5 Men Hanged in Semnan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Semnan Central Prison on 11 January 2026. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Benyamin Nobakht from Semnan who was arrested three years ago, and Ali Assadpour, a car painter who had got into an argument with a customer over payment. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court.

Furthermore, two other men were hanged at the prison on 19 January. They have been identified as 24-year-oldS Behzad Ranjbar and 40-year-old Jahangir Farazi from Damghan who were also on death row for murder. Per informed sources, Behzad worked in a restaurant and was arrested for allegedly killing another individual during a street fight two years ago. Jahangir was on death row for five years.

On 24 January, a man identified as Taleb Mohammadian from Semnan was executed at the prison. He was arrested for rape charges three years ago and sentenced to death.

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.