Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 9, 2024: Jaber Ansari and Morteza Ghasemi, two men on death row for murder charges, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 7 December. His identity has been established as Jaber Ansari from Dezful who resided in Najaf Abad in Isfahan. He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
Ashkan Fathi was also previously reported to have been executed at the prison that day.
Furthermore, another man was executed at the prison on 9 December. His identity has been established as 38-year-old Morteza Ghasemi (photo) who was arrested five years ago and also on death row for murder
At the time of writing, neither of their executions have 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.