Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 20, 2024: Mohammad Karamizadeh and Esmail Javadi were executed for murder charges in Ghezelhesar Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 19 August. Their identities have been established as Mohammad Karamizadeh and Esmail Javadi who were both sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
HRANA news agency which first reported news of the executions reported that Mohammad Karamizadeh was in prison for drug-related charges when he killed his wife during a conjugal visit, and Esmail Javadi was accused of killing his friend in an honour killing.
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.
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.