2 Men Including Afghan National Executed in Qom

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Qom  Central Prison on 10 December. Their identities have been established as Abdolmehdi Rashedmiri, a 30-year-old Afghan national from Mazar Sharif and 34-year-old Asghar Ramezani (photo) from Mahdasht in Karaj.

Abdolmehdi was arrested for murder three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.

Asghar was arrested for carrying drugs and being in possession of two weapons and either sentenced to death for drug-related or murder charges.

IHRNGO previously reported the execution of Saeed Moti at the prison that day, bringing the total number to three.

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 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.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.