3 Men and a Woman Executed in Karaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 24 April. His identity has been established as Pejman Azizi (photo) who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Pejman Azizi was very young at the time of arrest, it’s possible that he may have been a child offender.”

Iran Human Rights is investigating Pejman’s age at the time of the alleged arrest.

IHRNGO previously reported the executions of two other men named Shahram Sharghi and Alireza Aghayiat the prison that day.

Furthermore, Rokna reported the executions of two men and a woman in Karaj on 25 April.

According to the report, one of the men is alleged to have killed his second wife on 16 April 2020. The second man is alleged to have killed someone during a street fight on 29 September 2021. The woman allegedly killed her 70-year-old neighbour to steal their gold on 26 February 2022.

The three unnamed prisoners were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. The report does not specify the exact execution location of one of the men. The other man is reported to have been hanged in Ghezelhesar Prison and the woman is reported to have been executed in “Karaj Rajai Shahr Prison,” a prison that was closed last year.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.

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.

Iran is the biggest executioner of women. In 2023, at least 22 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran. The unidentified woman is the fifth woman to be executed in 2024.