Abbas Dadvar and Fakhreddin Mangournejad Executed in Mahabad

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Mahabad Prison in West Azerbaijan province on 7 March. Their identities have been established as Abbas Dadvar (right photo) and Fakhreddin Mangournejad (left photo).

Abbas Dadvar was from Mahabad and accused of killing two brothers with the help of his brother-in-law, Fakhreddin Mangournejad around four years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

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.

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.