Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 21, 2024: Mehdi Cheraghi, a man on death row for murder, has been transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells in Ghorveh Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution in Ghorveh Prison. His identity has been established as Mehdi Cheraghi from Ghorveh who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mehdi Cheraghi was arrested for murder a few years ago. Last night, many community elders and people went outside the home of the victim’s family, if they don’t change their mind, he’ll be executed within hours.”
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.