HANA Human Rights Organization has learned that in the early hours of Monday, June 15, 2026, the qisas sentence against Aram Zarei was carried out at Sanandaj Central Prison. He had previously been arrested in connection with the premeditated murder of his wife, Aida Heydarian, and had been sentenced to death by retribution by the Kurdistan Province Criminal Court. The sentence, after being upheld by the Supreme Court, was carried out in the presence of the victim’s next of kin.
The killing of Aida Heydarian must be understood within the broader context of gender based violence and femicide in Iran, where women are often victims of domestic violence and patriarchal control, with no effective protective mechanisms in place before a crime occurs. Rather than focusing on prevention, urgent protection for women at risk, and effective complaint and intervention mechanisms, the Islamic Republic’s criminal justice system tends to act only after a killing has already taken place.
At the same time, the carrying out of a death sentence or qisas is not a sign of an effective criminal justice system. A punitive response based on taking a life, without addressing the structures that produce violence, neither tackles the roots of femicide nor offers any guarantee of protection for women at risk. Cases like this reflect a dual failure of Iran’s criminal justice system more than they reflect the realization of justice: a failure to prevent violence against women before a murder occurs, and a resort to capital punishment only after the tragedy has taken place.
While stressing the need for accountability over the killing of Aida Heydarian, HANA Human Rights Organization notes that genuinely addressing femicide requires effective legal protection for women, safe access to support institutions, independent and fair proceedings, and an end to a criminal policy built around the death penalty.
At the time of this report, official media and institutions affiliated with the judiciary have not issued any statement regarding the carrying out of this sentence.