Iran Executes Former Child Bride Convicted of Murdering Husband

Iran executed a woman convicted of murdering her husband, who she was forced to marry as a 15-year-old child bride, the United Nations and human rights organizations said Wednesday.

Samira Sabzian, a mother of two, was hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, a city about 12 miles northwest of Tehran, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based nonprofit that advocates for an abolitionist movement against the death penalty in Iran.

"We are alarmed by execution of Samira Sabzian over alleged killing of her husband whom she was forced to marry at age of 15," the UN Human Rights Office said in a post on X.

"We again urge Iran to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing death penalty."

In its own statement, Amnesty International said it was "horrified by reports of the chilling execution."

Sabzian was arrested 10 years ago and sentenced to retribution-in-kind for the murder of her spouse, IHR said in a statement.

At the time of her arrest, Sabzian was the mother of two young children – one of whom was a newborn baby – neither of whom she was allowed to see until just before her hanging, the organization said.

"She saw them for the first and last time when they came to the prison to say goodbye," the IHR said.

As of early Wednesday, Sabzian's execution had not been reported by Iranian media or officials, according to the group.

“Samira was a victim of years of gender apartheid, child marriage and domestic violence, and today she fell victim to the incompetent and corrupt regime’s killing machine," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the IHR said in a statement.

"A regime that has sustained itself solely through killing and instilling fear."

Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, "and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for this crime," Amiry-Moghaddam added.

The IHR said Samira is the 18th woman this year to be executed in Iran, which executes more women than any other nation, according to available data.

Last year, Iran executed 16 women.

A report released in May by Amnesty International found that executions jumped by 53% around the globe in 2022 compared to the previous year. There were at least 576 executions carried out by Iran last year.

The IHR previously reported that at least 164 women were executed in Iran between 2010 and late 2021.

"In 66% of the known murder cases, the women were convicted of killing their husband or partner," the IHR said in its statement.

"Within the marriage, a woman does not have the right to divorce, even in cases of domestic violence and abuse, which are hidden in cultural codes and language."

Human rights organizations have expressed alarm over the rate at which Iran has carried out its executions this year.

According to Amnesty International, at least 115 people were executed last month alone.