Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 28 June, 2025: Hassan Rostamnejad, Azim Mohammadi and Talat Sabzi, two men and a woman on death row for separate murders, were executed in Qom Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men and a woman were hanged in Qom Central Prison on 24 June 2025. Their identities have been established as Hassan Rostamnejad (photo), Azim Mohammadi and Talat Sabzi, a 47-year-old woman.
They were all sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder in separate cases.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Hossein Rostamnejad was arrested for the murder of his friend over financial disputes four years ago. Azim Mohammadi was arrested for the murder his wife four years ago. Talat Sabzi was arrested for the murder of her husband five years ago.”
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Talat Sabzi is the 17th woman execution recorded in 2025. Iran executes the highest number of women globally. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran, the highest number of recorded women executions in more than 15 years.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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 five months of 2025, at least 233 people were executed for murder charges in Iran, per IHRNGO data.