Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 13, 2024: Ramin Hatami, Khalilollah Seifi, Kamal Valadbeigi and an unidentified man were executed for murder drug-related charges in Qazvin Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Qazvin (Choobindar) Central Prison 9 October. Of those, three were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. The identities of two of the men have been established as 38-year-old Ramin Hatami (photo) and 40-year-old Khalilollah Seifi. The third man has not been identified at the time of writing.
The fourth man who was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court has been identified as Kamal Valadbeigi.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ramin was a glazier prior to his arrest three years ago. Khaliloolah was from a village in Qazvin and arrested four years ago. Kamal Valadbeigi was arrested two years ago.”
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.