Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 29 June 2026: Mohammad Ali Haji Hassani, a man on death row for murder, and Mahmoud Ghaem, a man convicted of armed robbery, were executed in Yasuj Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged Yasuj Central Prison on 22 June 2026. Their identities have been established as 25-year-old Mohammad Ali Haji Hassani from Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and 28-year-old Mahmoud Ghaemi from Yasuj.
Mohammad Ali was arrested less than two years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Mahmoud was arrested for an armed robbery along with two others four years ago. His co-defendants received 15-year terms while Mahmoud was sentenced to death on the charge of moharebeh (enmity against God) as the first defendant.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.
Crucially, while an indicative diya amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money. Should the victim’s family choose execution, they are not only encouraged to attend, but also to physically carry out the execution themselves.
According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 747 people including 48 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Under 7% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2025, IHRNGO also recorded 566 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.