Iran has carried out the execution of a woman convicted of killing her four-year-old stepdaughter in the country’s northwest, judicial authorities confirmed on Saturday.
According to the judiciary’s official outlet, Mizan Online, the child, identified as Ava, died in December 2023 after suffering severe brain injuries linked to repeated abuse allegedly inflicted by her stepmother.
After the conclusion of investigations and trial proceedings, the woman was found guilty in March 2024 and sentenced to qisas, an Islamic legal principle that grants a victim’s family the right to seek capital punishment in murder cases.
The ruling was subsequently affirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice of West Azerbaijan province, Naser Atabati, said the execution was carried out at dawn, noting that the victim’s biological mother had insisted on the enforcement of retributive justice.
Authorities did not disclose the identity of the executed woman.
Iran maintains capital punishment for serious offences such as murder and rape, with executions typically conducted by hanging in the early hours of the day.
