Urmia Prison: Execution of Sardar Qaderi Carried Out
On the dawn of Saturday, July 25, 2026, the death sentence of a Kurdish prisoner named "Sardar Qaderi" from Mahabad was executed in Urmia Central Prison.
According to an informed source, this prisoner was arrested on January 10, 2022, on charges of "premeditated murder" and was subsequently sentenced to death by the judicial system of the Iranian government on the same charge.
Sardar Qaderi, a resident of Gapis village in the suburbs of Mahabad, was married and the father of one child.
As of the time of reporting, the execution of this prisoner has not been officially announced by domestic Iranian media or state outlets.
Under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all forms of intentional homicide are subject solely to the punishment of Qisas (retribution-in-kind). Factors such as self-defense, the circumstances of the crime, or the defendant's motive play a very limited role in determining the penalty. This legal structure conflicts with the right to life and fair trial guarantees stipulated in Articles 6 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as with state obligations to safeguard life and uphold public justice.
According to documented data from the Kurdpa Human Rights Organization, at least 9,078 people were executed in Iran between 2012 and the first half of 2026, with the identities of 980 Kurdish citizens confirmed among them. In the first half of 2026 alone, more than 359 executions were recorded, with Kurds representing the highest figure among ethnic minorities at 30 executions. Furthermore, over a five-month span (January 17, 2026, to June 16, 2026), the death sentences of 46 political and ideological prisoners were carried out in a hasty and secretive manner—marking the highest such figure in the shortest timeframe since the 1980s.
