Iran executes Marzieh Neyri, 24, after self-defence claim rejected by court

Iranian authorities carried out the execution of Marzieh Nayeri at dawn on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Qazvin Central Prison, also known as Choobindar Prison, according to human rights organizations HRANA and Hengaw.

Nayeri was 24. Rights groups reported she was a victim of child marriage. Six years ago, at age 17, her family forced her to marry a man named Davoud.

The case dates to early October, about five years ago, when Nayeri was 18. According to the account presented in court, her husband returned home with an associate, Alireza.

HRANA reported that Alireza attempted to sexually assault her in her husband’s presence.

In self-defense, Nayeri struck Alireza with a kitchen knife, injuring him, and then killed her husband with the same knife.

She went to her brother’s home and turned herself in to police four days later.

During judicial proceedings, Nayeri said she had previously been subjected to repeated attempted sexual assaults by her husband’s friends and used the knife to defend herself. Alireza, who survived the stabbing, denied her account in court and alleged Nayeri had been involved with another person and intended to kill her husband.

The court rejected her claim of self-defense. Under Iran’s qisas, or retribution, law, she was sentenced to death.

The victim’s next of kin also declined to grant forgiveness.

Hengaw reported the execution under the headline “Iran executes 24-year-old victim of child marriage at Qazvin prison.”

Human rights groups say Nayeri’s case reflects a broader pattern in Iran, where women who kill in alleged self-defense during sexual assaults are frequently denied clemency.

Her case has drawn comparisons to Reyhaneh Jabbari, who was executed in 2014 after she said she killed a man who tried to rape her.

Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, proving certain sexual crimes can require four male witnesses. Women’s testimony often carries less weight in court, and self-defense claims by women in such cases are frequently rejected, according to rights advocates.

Iran has not released an official statement on Nayeri’s execution through state media.