Group Hanging of 3 Men in Rasht

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 7 December 2025. Two of the men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identitites have been established as Farshid Jafarzadeh (right photo) from the village of Gafsheh in Rasht and Sirous Zabihi (left photo) from Karaj, both 32. Farshid was arrested around five years ago and Sirous was arrested for allegedly killing another individual during a street fight around three years ago.

The third executed man was on death row for drug-related offences. He has been identified as 27-year-old Ali Saoudi from Sari who was arrested around two years ago.

The three men were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions along with another prisoner named Mehdi Rajab Alizadeh. He was returned to his cell after obtaining a last minute extension in his murder case.

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. 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 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 419 people including a juvenile offender and 19 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 12% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2024, Iran Human Rights also recorded 649 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions. At least 641 people were executed for murder charges in the first eleven months of 2025.