Daughter forced to execute own mother in Iran

A 19-year-old woman was forced to execute her own mother under Iran's barbaric laws. She was made to kick away the chair from under her mother Maryam Karimi's feet as the latter was being executed by hanging.

Karimi had received the death penalty for killing her abusive husband with the help of her father 13 years ago.

She had been charged with "retribution in kind," which is known in Iran as "Qisas"—a form of "an eye for an eye" punishment. Her father was also put behind bars, but for unknown reasons, he did not meet the same fate.

Karimi's six-year-old daughter was then sent to live with her paternal grandparents. The girl was informed of what actually happened to her parents only a few weeks before she turned 19, per a report in The Mirror.

A few weeks later, the girl was taken to Rasht Central Prison to carry out her mother's execution on March 13. Her maternal grandfather was also made to look at his daughter's lifeless body still swinging from the gallows.

In Iran, a man can get away with the murder of his wife and daughter simply by accusing them of having illicit relationships. The Iranian laws provide full protection to men in such cases. However, the same does not hold for women.

Iranian laws allow the death penalty for offences such as extramarital sexual relations, same-sex relationships, drug trafficking, and drinking alcohol. Qisas grants the victim or the victim's family the right to retributive justice. The onus is put on the victim's families if they want to forgive the accused or receive a sum of "blood money."

According to an Amnesty International report, the Iranian authorities executed at least 251 people within the first six months of 2022.

"During the first six months of 2022, the Iranian authorities executed at least one person a day on average. The state machinery is carrying out killings on a mass scale across the country in an abhorrent assault on the right to life," said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.