Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 17 February 2026: Farzad Fazli and Davoud Ghafouri, two men on death row for separate murders, were executed in Qom Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Qom Central Prison on 15 February 2026. Their identities have been established as 26-year-old Farzad Fazli from Tehran and 30-year-old Davoud Ghafouri from Shahriar.
They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court. Farzad was arrested around three years ago and Davoud was arrested around two years ago.
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 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.