Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 22, 2025: Mohammad Ebrahimi, an Afghan national, and Sa’adi Minayi were executed for murder and drug-related charges respectively, in Qazvin Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Qazvin (Choobindar) Central Prison on 20 October 2025. Their identities have been established as Mohammad Ebrahimi, a 31-year-old Afghan man from Harat and Sa’adi Minayi from Qazvin.
Sa’adi was arrested around four years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. Abolfazl Taremi was arrested over three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohammad had immigrated to Iran with his family when he was 11 years old. He worked in a shoe factory in Qazvin, where another worker had been killed as a result of a fight. The other witnesses had all pointed the finger at Mohammad. He was executed without a last family visit.”
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 nine months of 2025, at least 457 people were executed for murder charges in Iran.