Additional Coverage:
- Mom, 28, who gave birth on death row is ‘secretly’ executed while toddler lives in prison (themirror.com)
A 28-year-old Iranian woman, Asma Zarei, reportedly executed by hanging while on death row after giving birth in prison, has drawn renewed attention to Iran’s use of capital punishment under its Islamic legal system. Zarei was convicted of intentionally killing her husband and sentenced to qisas, a form of retributive justice meaning “eye for an eye.”
Zarei, believed to be from Parsabad in northern Iran, was detained about three years ago and carried her pregnancy to term while incarcerated at Ardabil Central Prison. Her child, now two years old, has reportedly spent their entire life behind bars. Before her execution at dawn on May 20, Zarei is said to have written a final will asking for her mother to care for the toddler, who has since been placed with family members.
Sources told Iran Human Rights (IHR) that Zarei was accused of poisoning her husband with pills. She was moved to solitary confinement a day before her execution and was allowed a last visit with family. Ardabil’s women’s ward currently houses around 80 inmates, including at least seven other women sentenced to qisas for murder charges.
Zarei’s execution marks the sixth recorded female execution in Iran so far in 2026. Last year, 48 women were executed-the highest female execution toll in over 20 years-according to IHR, which highlights that Iran leads the world in executions of women.
Human rights groups note the opaque nature of Iran’s judicial process, with trials often closed to the public and media, making independent verification difficult. Amnesty International and others have documented cases where confessions were reportedly extracted through torture or coercion.
Defendants sentenced under qisas often face significant barriers to fair representation, forensic scrutiny, and appeals. In these cases, the victim’s family plays a decisive role, choosing whether to pursue execution, accept diya (financial compensation), or grant pardon.
IHR further reports that while the judiciary sets a baseline for diya payments, there is no legal limit on what families can demand, sometimes resulting in executions when defendants cannot pay. The organization also claims that families are sometimes encouraged not only to witness but to participate in carrying out executions.
Asma Zarei’s case underscores ongoing concerns about due process, transparency, and human rights in Iran’s criminal justice system, particularly regarding the use of capital punishment involving women and vulnerable prisoners.