Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 24 August 2026: Fatemeh (Maryam) Kamali-Zare, a woman on death row for murder, was executed in Karaj Penitentiary.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was hanged in Karaj Penitentiary (Central Prison) on 23 August 2026. Her identity has been established as 30-year-old Fatemeh (Maryam( Kamali-Zare who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.
An informed source provided IHRNGO with Maryam’s account of the case: “Maryam Kamali-Zare was from Hesarak in Karaj and worked for the Mammut Company. Around two years ago, as a newlywed, she was arrested on charges of murdering a six-year-old girl and was swiftly sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind). Maryam and her husband were tenants of a family whose father, identified by the initials S.S., was an official officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Alborz Province. According to Maryam's statements, this individual had previously attempted to sexually assault her on two occasions and had harassed her. On the day of the incident, the landlord again attacked Maryam in the car park in an attempt to sexually assault her."
The source further explained: "After defending herself and escaping from the man, Maryam put his young child into her car and drove away to scare him. Due to the complainant's organisational influence, Maryam was quickly pursued. While speaking on the phone with officers in the desert area outside Hashtgerd, the child called her 'auntie'. At that moment, to prevent the child's voice from being heard over the phone, Maryam pushed her back. Tragically, the child fell to the ground, struck her head against a stone and died from the severity of the injury."
Rokna reported the execution without identifying Maryam by name, asserting that she "abducted the neighbour's child and murdered her in the desert." The next of kin’s affiliation with the IRGC led to the case and sentencing being fast-tracked.
Maryam Kamali-Zare is the sixteenth woman execution recorded in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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.