IRAN - Ilia Khalifehzadeh executed in public on July 12

July 12, 2025 - IRAN. Ilia (Ilya) Khalifehzadeh executed in public on July 12

State media reported the public hanging of an unnamed man for rape charges in Bukan where children were amongst the spectators. IHR has established his identity as Ilia (Ilya) Khalifehzadeh. This is the second public hanging reported in a week.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, a man was publicly hanged in Bukan on 12 July 2025. The unnamed man who IHR has identified as 20-year-old Ilia Khalifehzadeh, was sentenced to death on charges of rape that led to the death of a 7-year-old girl. He was arrested last year and was the first defendant in the case. Three other individuals connected to the case—Keyvan Jalbian (the child’s father), Shahnaz Mahmoudi from Divandareh, and Asrin Khalifehzadeh from Saqqez—were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for their roles in the abuse, torture, and murder of the child.

Videos of the public hanging obtained by IHR show that children were amongst the spectators.

This is the second public hanging recorded in Iran in the past week. On 9 July, an unnamed man was publicly hanged for murder charges in Baroq town.

Ilia Khalifzadeh is the fourth person to be publicly hanged in 2025.

https://iranhr.net/en/articles/7738/
https://hengaw.net/en/news/2025/07/article-55