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Man publicly executed in Iran over rape, murder of young girl
The execution was conducted “at the request of the victim’s family, due to the emotional effect the case on society,” provincial chief justice said.
Iranian authorities carried out a public execution on Saturday of a man convicted of raping and murdering a young girl. The victim’s family, from the northwestern city of Bukan, was involved in the legal process and had requested the public execution, reported judiciary’s Mizan Online news outlet.
"The case was given special attention due to the emotional impact it had on public opinion," an AFP report quoted Naser Atabati, the provincial chief justice, as saying.
Earlier in March, the man was sentenced to death and the ruling was later upheld by Iran’s highest court.
The execution was conducted in public “at the request of the victim’s family and citizens, due to the emotional effect the case had on society,” Atabati added.
Public executions, usually by hanging, are not uncommon in Iran and are typically carried out in cases considered especially serious. Murder and rape are capital offenses in Iran, which ranks as the world's second most prolific executioner, according to human rights organizations including Amnesty International.
Trend of public executions in Iran
In 2024, Iran executed at least 975 people in what human rights groups called a “horrifying escalation” of the capital punishments in the country. The figures were released by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the French organization Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM).
According to the report, of the 975 executions, four were carried out in public, and 31 of those executed were women, which is the highest number recorded in the past 17 years.
Capital punishment remains central to Iran’s sharia-based legal system, established after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Western-backed shah. Crimes that attract death penalty include rape, murder, drug offenses and some of the more vaguely defined charges like “corruption on earth” and “rebellion,” which are often used against dissent.
In June, Iran executed a detainee convicted of collaborating with Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, Tasnim news agency reported.
