Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 25, 2025: Meisam Khazayi, Vahid Karimizadeh, Farhad Farahnak, Alireza Rezayi and Mobarak Rahmani, five men on death row for separate drug-related and murder charges, were executed in Qom Central Prison. Four other unidentified men have been transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells of the prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Qom Central Prison on 25 May 2025. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Alireza Rezayi from Qom and Mobarak Rahmani, a 25-year-old Afghan man. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
Another prisoner named Abdollah Yadegari who was transferred to the gallows with them, was returned to his cell after obtaining a last minute extension in his case.
Two other men were hanged at the prison on 24 May. Their identities have been established as Vahid Karimizadeh, a 35-year-old father from Tehran, and 25-year-old Farhad Farahnak from Qom. Vahid was on death row for drug-related offences and Farhad was sentenced to qisas for murder.
Another man was also hanged for murder at the prison on 20 May. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Meisam Khazayi.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Meisam was arrested for a murder over finances four years ago. Vahid was arrested for drug offences three years ago. Farhad was arrested for a murder during a street altercation five years ago.”
“Mobarak was arrested for murder two and a half years ago. Alireza was arrested for a murder during a street altercation around six years ago. Four other prisoners on death row for murder and drug offences are currently in solitary confinement awaiting execution.”
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. Should the victim’s family choose execution, they are not only encouraged to attend, but also to physically carry out the execution themselves.
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.
In the first four months of 2025, at least 153 people were executed for murder charges in Iran, per IHRNGO data.