Executed for sexual offences

This page keeps the memory of 231 people who were executed on sexual charges, that is, rape, sodomy (lavat) or adultery (zina). According to the sources, all of these 231 people were executed. The earliest execution recorded in this list dates back to 30 Farvardin 1388 and the latest to 10 Shahrivar 1405. What appears in the title of this page is the charge that judicial authorities or news sources announced; recording it here does not mean the crime was proven, and we make no judgement about anyone's guilt or innocence. In many of these cases the accused themselves had denied the charge and spoke of confessions made under pressure.

Years, cities and ages

Executions on sexual charges appear in every year of this list, but the year 1390 with 30 names and the year 1391 with 28 names are the heaviest years, followed by 1392 with 20 names and 1401 with 18 names. Karaj with 27 names is the most frequent city, followed by Shiraz with 23, Tehran with 13, Bandar Abbas with 11 and Arak with 10 names. The provinces of Alborz and Fars, each with 28 names, are at the top of the provinces. The days 7 Dey 1391, 26 Mordad 1401 and 30 Shahrivar 1401, each with 5 executions, are among the most frequent days in this list.

The youth of those executed on this page is striking: their median age is 26 years; the youngest of them was 14 years old and the oldest 64. 4 of the people in this list were under 18 years of age; children who were handed over to execution. There are also 10 women in this list whose source mentioned that they were women.

Some lives

Alireza Tajiki was a first-year high school student when he was arrested. The source describes him as “a slightly built, religious teenager and a member of the mosque's cycling group.” His father was a gardener employed by the water authority of Fasa. Alireza was hanged at the age of 21, at dawn on 19 Mordad 1396, in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. This sentence from his family remains: “We have been dead for 6 years, only the earth is not on top of us!” His mother, who was bedridden after two open-heart operations, was taken to the prison by ambulance for the last visit.

Mehdi Sohrabifar was executed at the age of 17, on 5 Ordibehesht 1398, in the same prison in Shiraz. The source writes: “He had an intellectual disability and could not read or write.” And elsewhere: “Mr. Sohrabifar loved life and had plans for his future.” His family realised from the marks on his body that he had also been flogged before the execution. Amirhossein Pourjafar Katamjani was 19 years old and was executed on 14 Dey 1396 in Varamin; since childhood he had been hard of hearing in one ear and had a disability in one leg, and his family said about him: “Whatever broke at home, Amirhossein fixed it”

Ehsan Baei Lashaki, 27 years old and the only son of the family, was executed on 11 Khordad 1395 in Nowshahr; according to the source he “was a kind person and, like many teenagers, was more interested in football than in school.” Javad Golniyat, 30 years old, father of two 8-year-old twin daughters, was executed on 20 Esfand 1396 in Khoy and, according to the source, “has always denied committing such an act.” Karim Zargar, 64 years old, a law graduate and founder of the institute “Rah-e Ma'refat” (Path of Knowledge), was hanged on 10 Bahman 1396 in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj, and the news of his execution was published only without his name.

About this list

The list of those executed on sexual charges is not complete. The real number is higher, because many of these executions remained without a name or unreported, and we record only a name for which we have found a source. A large part of the names on this page, namely 182 cases, comes from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center; followed by the Iran Human Rights Society with 34 cases, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 28 cases and Haalvsh with 12 cases. For each of these 231 names there is at least one source, but some rest on only one report. We have a description of the life of 19 people. If you knew one of those executed, or know details of their case that appear incorrectly here, send us your memory or correction.