Iran has executed a woman convicted of killing her four-year-old stepdaughter in the country’s northwest, judicial authorities confirmed on Saturday.
According to Iran’s judiciary, the child, identified as Ava, died in December 2023 after suffering severe brain injuries caused by repeated wounds inflicted by her stepmother. The case was initially reported by the judiciary’s official outlet, Mizan Online.
Following investigations and court proceedings, the woman was sentenced in March 2024 to qisas, an Islamic legal principle that allows the victim’s family to seek retribution. The sentence was later upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice of West Azerbaijan province, Naser Atabati, said the execution was carried out at dawn, noting that the child’s biological mother had firmly insisted on the enforcement of the death penalty. Authorities did not disclose the identity of the executed woman.
Iran enforces capital punishment for crimes including murder and rape, with executions typically carried out by hanging in the early hours of the day.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, consistently rank Iran as the second-highest executor in the world after China.
Source: AFP