Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 12 October 2026: Ahmad Bazvand, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Khorramabad (Parsilion) Central Prison on 7 October 2026. His identity has been established as Ahmad Bazvand, a 35-year-old father of one from the village of Bazvand in Lorestan province. He was arrested around four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ahmad became embroiled in a clash with his cousins following a dispute. During the confrontation, both sides exchanged gunfire. In the midst of this, Ahmad's uncle's son-in-law stepped out of the house to see what was happening, but was struck by a bullet and lost his life."
Emphasising the prisoner's innocence, the source added: "Ahmad didn’t fire the bullet that killed him. The victim was shot from behind, and crime-scene evidence indicated that someone else, potentially including the victim's brother-in-law, may have been responsible for the fatal shot. Nevertheless, the opposing party wielded considerable influence; with Ahmad lacking backing, and the court disregarding both the evidence and his defence lawyer's objections, he was ultimately convicted."
At the time of writing, his execution has 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 families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions. In the first nine months of 2026, at least 306 people were executed for murder charges.