Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 28 August 2026: State media announced the execution of a man only identified as Mosayeb in Mashhad Central Prison. He was convicted of murdering a woman.
According to Hamshahri Online, citing Khorasan newspaper, a man only identified as Mosayeb was hanged in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 24 August 2026.
According to the state narrative, 26-year-old videographer Hadiseh Eslami was shot and killed by Mosayeb, who had been recruited by her husband, Masoud, following a dispute over a villa garden deed that Masoud claimed to have transferred to his temporary wife (sigheh) to gain her mother's trust.
He was arrested with his cousin Masoud in October 2023 and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by Branch 5 of the Khorasan Razavi Criminal Court One. Masoud received a 25-year custodial sentence.
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 families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.