Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 11, 2025: Mahan Mahini, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Isfahan Central Prison in a group hanging of three.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 25 June 2025. His identity has been established as Mahan Mahini from Isfahan who was arrested five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
IHRNGO previously reported the executions of Massoud Jafari and Ghorban Zeinolnouri, bringing the total number of executions to three at the prison that day.
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 six months of 2025, at least 268 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.