Asieh Farahman and Zeinab Zarini Hanged for Murder in Qazvin

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two women were hanged in Qazvin (Choobindar) Central Prison. Their identities have been established as 28-year-old Asieh Farahmand and 32-year-old Zeinab Zarini, two relatives from Qazvin who were the co-wives of the same man. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for his murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Asieh and Zeinab were the co-wives of a wealthy 50-year-old man named Fathollah. Although they lived in separate houses, they coordinated a plot to murder him, driven by domestic disputes and a financial motivation to seize his property. They attacked their husband from behind, striking him on the head with a hammer while he was praying.”

Elaborating on how the crime was proven, the source added: "Following the discovery of the body, Zeinab was initially arrested but refused to confess during interrogation. Detectives from the criminal investigation department then placed Asieh and Zeinab together in a room equipped with a hidden listening device which recorded them discussing the details of the murder, and this audio evidence was used against them in court, resulting in death sentences for both."

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

Asieh Farahman and Zeinab Zarini are the eighth and ninth women executions 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.

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.