Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 25, 2024: Hassan Yousef Azari, a man on death row for murder charges, was executed along with Kamran Sheikheh in Urmia Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Urmia (Darya) Central Prison on 25 July. His identity has been established as Hassan Yousefi Azar who was arrested for murder three years ago.
He was alleged to have stabbed another man to death in a fight and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
IHRNGO previously reported the execution of Kurdish-Sunni political prisoner, Kamran Sheikheh at the prison that day, bringing the number of executions to two.
At the time of writing, his execution has 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.