Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 25 August 2026: Mahmoud Talebi and Hossein Hesari, two men on death row for separate murders, were executed in Mashhad Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 23 August 2026. Their identities have been established as Mahmoud Talebi (photo), a 44-year-old father of one from Torbate Heydarieh and 35-year-old Hossein Hesari from Mashhad.
Mahmoud was arrested four years ago and Hossein was arrested five years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
They were transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells on 22 August, with their executions carried out at 4 am the next day.
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.