Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 20 August 2026: Donya Mohammadi and Khodadad Mohammadi, a woman and man on death row for separate murders, were executed in Ilam Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and man were hanged in Ilam Central Prison on 19 August 2026. Their identities have been established as Donya Mohammadi, a 20-year-old woman, and Khodadad Mohammadi, a 50-year-old retired teacher from Eyvane Gharb. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court for separate murders.
An informed source told IHRNGO: "Khodadad was arrested for the murder of his son-in-law two years ago. Donya had just turned 18 when she was arrested. The victim’s next of kin was her maternal uncle who refused to forgo his right to retribution.”
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Donya Mohammadi is the fifteenth woman execution recorded in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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.