On the morning of Monday, August 24, the death sentence of a 23-year-old woman named Arezoo Rastad was carried out in Isfahan Central Prison (Dastgerd). Arezoo Rastad who was a forced marriage victim, had previously been sentenced to death on the charge of “murder.”
Arezoo Rastad, a forced marriage victim, is the fourth woman to be executed by the clerical regime in Iran within a single week.
Speaking about the execution, an informed source said: “Arezoo was from Isfahan and was only 21 years and eight months old at the time of the alleged crime. At the age of 19, under family pressure, she was forced to marry her father’s cousin, who was 11 years older than her. Severe disputes arose between them, and her husband repeatedly beat her to the brink of death.”
According to this source, about two years ago, Arezoo committed murder while having lost her psychological control. However, the court ignored her defense arguments and history of domestic violence, sentencing her to qisas (retribution-in-kind).
As of the time of writing, the execution of this prisoner has not been announced by domestic Iranian media or official sources.
With the execution of the 23-year-old Arezoo Rastad in Isfahan Central Prison (Dastgerd), the number of women executed in Iranian prisons since the beginning of the current calendar year (2026) has reached at least 24.
Iran, the world record holder in executing women
According to data recorded by the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at least 352 women have been executed in Iran since 2007.
Many of the women executed by the Iranian regime are themselves victims of domestic violence and discriminatory family laws. A significant number have acted in self-defense.
Since Masoud Pezeshkian took office, the clerical regime has executed nearly 4,030 prisoners, including 112 women.
According to the NCRI sources, in 2025 alone, more than 2,201 executions were recorded in Iran, more than double the number carried out in 2024 (1,006).
Amnesty International confirmed in its annual report that Iran’s ruling dictatorship carried out at least 2,159 executions in 2025, the highest documented annual execution rate worldwide since 1981.
The NCRI Women’s Committee calls on the United Nations and relevant agencies, the European Union and its member states, as well as all human rights defenders, to take effective measures to halt the rampant executions in Iran.
