Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 24, 2024: Mohammadreza Haji Khani and Mehran Soltani, two men on death row for murder, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Zanjan Central Prison on 23rd October. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Mohammadreza Haji Khani (photo) and 30-year-old Mehran Soltani who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohammadreza was from Zanjan and was arrested for a murder in a repair shop. Mehran Soltani was also from Zanjan and arrested for the murder of a relative five 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.