Woman and 2 Men Hanged in Isfahan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men and a woman were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 31 January 2026. The woman has been identified as Mahnaz Roshani from Shahin Shahr. The charges against her have not been established at the time or writing.

The two men’s identities have been established as 26-year-old Mehrdad Siahi from Shahin Shahr and Aref Hashemi from Khomeini Shahr. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court. Mehrdad was on death row for around two years.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Mahnaz Roshani is the second woman execution recorded in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.

In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering. 

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.