Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 14 August 2026: Mehrdad Sahebi, Nader Sheikhlu and an unidentified man were executed for separate murders in Ardabil Central Prison. Another man named Hassan Arjangi escaped the gallows after obtaining a last minute extension in his case.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least three men were hanged in Ardabil Central Prison on 10 August 2026. Two of the men have been identified as 22-year-old Mehrdad Sahebi (left photo) from Ardabil and 26-year-old Nader Sheikhlu (right photo). The identity of the third man who was 35 years old has not been established at the time of writing.
They were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “At around 11:00 AM on 9th August, three prisoners from Ward 1 of Ardabil Central Prison, alongside a fourth prisoner transferred from an undisclosed facility for execution, were moved to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells. Among them, the fourth prisoner, Hassan Arjangi, secured a one-month stay of execution from the victim’s next of kin and was returned to the ward.”
“Mehrdad was arrested three years ago following an altercation at a pool hall when he was only 19 years old. Nader Sheikhlu worked as an auto body repairer and painter at a garage. Around four years ago, he was arrested following an altercation and convicted of murder,” the source added.
Rokna, a domestic media outlet, reported the execution of a prisoner for the murder of a woman in Ardabil. It is believed that this report corresponds to the third man executed in Ardabil Central Prison, whose identity is still under verification.
At the time of writing, Mehrdad and Nader’s 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 mitigating factors 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