Report on the Execution of a Female Prisoner in Qezel Hesar Prison

Breathing in Confinement, Saturday, 18 July 2026: The death sentence of a female prisoner who had previously been arrested on a murder charge and sentenced to death was carried out in Qezel Hesar Prison.

According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, a female prisoner was executed in Qezel Hesar Prison at dawn on Wednesday, 15 July. The prisoner has been identified by Breathing in Confinement as Parvin Chardouli. Breathing in Confinement had previously reported her execution alongside those of five other prisoners.

According to reports received, Parvin Chardouli, aged 39, was arrested approximately seven years ago on a charge of murdering her husband’s child and was ultimately sentenced to death. According to information obtained, she did not directly commit the killing and, based on the information received, her role in the case did not involve directly perpetrating the murder. Nevertheless, the court sentenced her to death on the charge brought against her.

According to available information, during the preliminary investigation and judicial proceedings, it was alleged that Ms Chardouli discovered, after leaving the bathroom, that her husband’s child had secretly filmed her and that, as a result, she killed the child in an attempt to destroy the footage.

However, under the principles of criminal law, the mere existence of a motive or dispute is not, in itself, sufficient to establish criminal responsibility. The court must carefully establish all the constituent elements of the offence, including the actus reus and mens rea, as well as the causal link between the defendant’s conduct and the criminal outcome.

According to information received, critics of the case argue that the alleged motive for the offence cannot, on its own, establish criminal intent or demonstrate that the conditions required for a sentence of qisas were met. They argue that even if the allegation of secret filming were true, other legal and non-violent avenues were available to address the matter.

The execution of Parvin Chardouli was carried out amid continuing questions raised by some human rights activists and critics of Iran’s judicial system regarding the conduct of the judicial proceedings, the assessment of the evidence in the case, and the proportionality of the sentence imposed.