Iran executed prisoner Kioumars Zarghami at Saqqez Prison, in Kurdistan province, on 5 March over the “premeditated murder” of his wife.
On 8 June 2021, the burnt body of Zarghami’s wife, Golaleh Sheikhi, was found near the village of Chapan-e Sofla in Saqqez.
Zarghami was arrested in Astara, Gilan province, on charges of murdering his wife after the victim’s family filed a complaint.
Later, Zarghami confessed under detention that he had murdered Sheikhi due to “family disputes”.
In January 2022, the Branch One of the Criminal Court of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, sentenced the civilian on the charge of “intentional murder of a Muslim woman” under the Islamic law of qisas or retribution-in-kind, which grants the right to retaliate to the victim’s family.
