Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 1 June 2026: Mohammad Hakimi, a man convicted of murder for the accidental death of a home invader, was executed in Neishabur Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Neishabur Prison. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Mohammad Hakimi from Neishabur. He was arrested in November 2022 and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
Describing the events on the night of the incident, an informed source told IHRNGO: “On 21 October 2022, Mohammad was a guest at his in-law's house. At around midnight, a loud banging was heard at the courtyard door. Since Mohammad and his wife were in the courtyard at the time, they called out to ask who it was. From behind the door, profanities were shouted back, with the men yelling that they had come to take the women of the family, specifically naming Mohammad’s wife, Atefeh.
By then, the rest of the family had rushed into the courtyard as the individuals outside began smashing the window panes. Looking through a gap in the door, the family saw three or four masked men who did not appear to be in a sober state. Mohammad’s mother-in-law told him to get onto the roof. He climbed up using an evaporative cooler in the courtyard, and the family threw up a handmade hunting rifle with two cartridges to him from below. His father-in-law told him to scare them off so they would leave.
Mohammad fired one warning shot into the air. He then fired a second shot which hit an electricity pole and the pellets scattered upon impact and struck the deceased in the testicles, which ultimately caused his death. Because the deceased's companions were also armed, they abandoned him and fled the scene. Mohammad immediately called the police and an ambulance himself, and after 14 days, he voluntarily surrendered to the police.”
Mohammad stated throughout both the investigation and the trial that the death was an accident, but the court convicted him without taking self-defence and the accidental nature of the shooting into consideration.
At the time of writing, his execution has 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.
According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 747 people including 48 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Under 7% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2025, IHRNGO also recorded 566 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.