Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 9, 2025: State media reported the execution of an unnamed man for murder charges in Lordegan Prison.
According to state-affiliated Mehr News Agency, a man was hanged in Lordegan Prison, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, on 8 September 2025. The unnamed man was arrested in the Summer of 2022 and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
Citing the Lordegan Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor, Esmail Bagheri said: “This was the first time that a retribution execution was carried out in Lordegan Prison. From now on, in the interest of deterrence and the preservation of individual dignity, other retribution sentences under the jurisdiction of Lordegan will be carried out in the city’s prison.”
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 eight months of 2025, at least 375 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.