Kurdish Hemen Mostafayi at Imminent Risk of Execution in Sanandaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Kurdish man was transferred to solitary confinement on 19 June in preparation for his execution in Sanandaj Central Prison. His identity has been established as 33-year-old Hemen Mostafayi from Marivan. He was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Hemen was arrested for the murder of an IRGC officer in February/March 2013 and sentenced to death. He accepted the charges after being subjected to months of hard torture and interrogations.”

Hemen was previously transferred for execution on 31 December 2020 which was postponed due to civil society backlash and the victim’s family agreeing.

According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 582 people were executed in Iran. Of those, 288 were executed for murder charges.

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.