An Iranian woman who killed her husband was executed by her own daughter — under a primitive death penalty law that allows children to exact revenge on their parents, according to a report.
After serving 13 years in the slammer, Maryam Karimi was hanged by her daughter on March 13 at Rasht Central Prison, the Sun reported.
The daughter, who was 6 years old when her father was killed, reportedly refused to forgive her mom or accept blood money known as “Diya,” the news outlet reported, citing Iran International TV.
Karimi was charged with “retribution in kind,” which is known in the Islamic Republic as “Qisas” — a form of “eye-for-an eye” payback, according to the report.
Under Qisas, the victim’s next of kin are actively encouraged to carry out the execution themselves.
“For the past 13 years, they had told her that both her parents were dead, but had to tell her the truth a few weeks prior to the execution to prepare her psychologically,” a source told Iran Human Rights.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the group, said: “The Islamic Republic laws make a girl whose father was murdered when she was a child, the executioner of her own mother. The Islamic Republic is the leading promoter of violence in Iranian society today.”
Karimi’s father, Ebrahim, also had a hand in the killing, and was reportedly brought in by authorities to see the woman’s body hanging — but, for some reason, the death penalty was not also handed down to him.
“Four decades of brainwashing at schools, extreme punishments in Iranian society and a patriarchal regime mean that Maryam’s daughter was raised to make sure that executing her mother was a victory for a man, whether that be for her father or for the oppressive regime,” said Aram Bolandpaz, an activist and journalist at Iran International TV.
“Qisas is inhumane, savage, and cruel, no matter where in the world,” he added. “For a country which prioritizes the rights of unborn babies and emphasizes that life is the most valuable phenomenon, how can the Islamic Republic seize a life from someone in such an awful way.”
The use of Qisas has prompted calls from the UN over the retribution execution in 2020 of Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari.
“It is deeply disturbing that the authorities appear to have used the death penalty against an athlete as a warning to a population in a climate of increasing social unrest,” the UN said.