Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 5, 2025: Mohsen Hedayat, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison. With Morteza Saadatpour’s previously reported hanging, the number of executions at the prison that day has risen to two.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 29 March 2025. His identity has been established as Mohsen Hedayat who was arrested four and a half years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
IHRNGO previously reported the execution of Morteza Saadatpour, bringing the number of people hanged at the prison that day to two.
At the time of writing, his execution has 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.
According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 419 people including a juvenile offender and 19 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 12% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2024, Iran Human Rights also recorded 649 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.