Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 26 January 2026: Sajad Farhadpour, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Khomein Prison. His execution was carried out after his family failed to raise the 30 billion tomans (approx. 170,000 euros) demanded as blood money.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Khomein Prison on 24 January 2026. His identity has been established as Sajad Farhadpour, a 27-year-old Khomein native who was from the Chaharbari tribe. He was arrested around five years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Sajad was arrested for killing someone during a street fight in Khomein. He had previously been taken to the brink of execution twice. The first time was in May, when, following mediation by community elders from Khomein and Aligudarz, he was returned to the ward. The second time was three months ago, when the victim’s family announced they would grant forgiveness in exchange for 30 billion tomans (approx. 170,000 euros) in blood money. However, despite great efforts and public support, Sajad and his family were unable to raise such a large sum, and his sentence was ultimately carried out.”
At the time of writing, his execution has 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 diya 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.