Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 31, 2025: Zakaria Mohammad Khanlu, Milad Koubesh and four unidentified men, including two Afghan nationals, were executed in a group hanging of six in Ghezelhesar Prison
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, six men were hanged in Ghezelhesar Prison on 29 October 2025. Two of the men have been identified as Zakaria Mohammad Khanlu and Milad Koubesh (photo) from Gonbad Kavous who was arrested five years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
The identities of the other four men have not been established at the time of writing. Two of the men were on death row for murder and the other two were sentenced to death for rape charges. The two rape defendants were Afghan nationals.
The four murder executions were reported by Hamshahri Newspaper. The other two have not been reported by domestic media or officials at the time of writing.
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.