3 Men Including Afghan National Executed in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Shiraz Central Prison on 14 December. Only identified as Jamil (surname unknown), the Afghan national was sentenced to qisas(retribution-in-kind) for murder. He was on death row for four years.

Another man was executed at the prison on 11 December. His identity has been established as 27-year-old Saeed Akbari who was also sentenced to qisas for murder. According to informed sources, Saeed was transferred to the gallows from the youth ward and had been on death row for five years for the murder of someone in his neighbourhood during a fight.

On 7 December 2023, another man was executed at the prison. His identity has been established as 34-year-old Mojtaba Malekpour from Darab who was also on death row for murder. He was accused of murder during a fight in Darab city.

The gallows have recently been moved from the prison court yard to a small square-shaped basement room in Shiraz Central Prison. All executions are now being carried out in this room.

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, as the plaintiffs, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

It is important to note that Afghan nationals constitute the largest group of non-Iranian executions and death row cases in Iranian prisons. In 2021, no execution of Afghan nationals was recorded until September, when five men were executed in the space of 35 days. On 10 October 2021, Iran Human Rights expressed its concern that the Taliban takeover in August had facilitated the execution of Afghan nationals. That number more than tripled in 2022, with 16 Afghan nationals including a juvenile offender and a woman executed. At least 18 Afghans have been executed in 2023 so far, with two publicly hanged on 8 July.