Iran on Saturday executed a woman in the country’s northwest after convicting her of killing her four-year-old stepdaughter, according to the judiciary.
The child, identified as Ava, died in December 2023 from brain injuries caused by wounds inflicted by her stepmother, the judiciary’s Mizan Online news outlet reported at the time.
After legal proceedings, the woman was sentenced in March 2024 to qisas, Islamic law of retribution which allows a victim’s family to demand the death penalty. The sentence was later upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court.
Naser Atabati, chief justice of West Azerbaijan province, where the crime occurred, said the execution was carried out at dawn on Saturday, adding that Ava’s mother had “firmly demanded” retribution.
The authorities did not identify the executed woman.
Iran retains the death penalty for crimes including murder and rape and typically carries out executions by hanging at dawn.
According to human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Iran is the world’s second most prolific user of the death penalty after China.
AFP
