Barbaric law forces daughter to hang her mom by kicking chair from under her feet

The now-19-year-old woman discovered the truth about her father just weeks before her mother's execution

UPDATED AUG 30, 2022

Maryam Karimi was hanged and killed in Rasht Central Prison (Iran Human Rights website)

RASHT, IRAN: A daughter executed her own mother under one of Iran's most heinous laws. Maryam Karimi died after her child kicked the chair from under her while she was hanged. Maryam was sentenced to death for murdering her allegedly abusive husband, who refused to grant her a divorce.

Her father, her only relative, Ebrahim, assisted in the killing after failing to try and convince his obstinate son-in-law to do the right thing and grant his abused daughter a divorce peacefully. Maryam and Ebrahim were transferred to death row on February 22, 2021, but their execution was postponed for unknown reasons.

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Maryam Karimi was hanged and killed in Rasht Central Prison, Iran, on Saturday, March 13, 2021 for the murder of her husband. Her father who helped with the murder was also sentenced to death but was not executed.

According to Iran International TV, her daughter kicked the chair out from under her mother's feet after refusing to forgive her or accept "Diya" (blood money). Maryam was charged with "retribution in kind" which is known in Iran as "Qisas", a form of "an eye for an eye" retribution. Qisas requires the victim's next of kin to be present at the execution, and they are actively encouraged to carry out the execution themselves.

According to Iran's explanation of Islamic law, the killer's punishment is decided by the relatives of the murder victim rather than by the government. On conviction, families are asked whether they want "qisas" or "eye for an eye" retribution or if they would prefer to spare the offender and receive "blood money" in exchange. Another choice is forgiveness, which is surprisingly common, Mirror reported.

The now-19-year-old woman discovered the truth about her father just weeks before her mother's execution. A source told Iran Human Rights: "Maryam’s daughter was six years old when the murder took place and has been in the care of her father’s family. "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."

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man who was executed in Rasht Central Prison on 2 June 2022 was identified as Ebrahim Karimi who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of his son-in-law with his daughter, Maryam Karimi.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, told The Mirror about this terrifying incident, adding that the judicial system is "converting" victims into executioners. He explained, "It's important to illustrate what qisas lead to beyond the actual executions. The Iranian penal code, not only does it have inhumane punishment, but it also promotes violence on the society." He continued, "In cases of murder where they talk about Qisas, or 'retribution-in-kind', what they actually do is they put the responsibility of execution on the shoulders of the murder victim's family. So from being a victim, they are converted to becoming an executioner. But then it becomes even more brutal when we have these murders within the family."

Mahmood further explained how the regime holds off on asking a child to complete an "impossible" task until they are 18 years old. He said, "They put the child in an impossible situation, where they say 'your mother has murdered your father', and it's you who's going to decide their fate."

According to Mahmood, Iran's clerical leaders laud the family's "right" to retribution as "holy", and that other civil liberty such as freedom of expression are routinely ignored or suppressed. "Judges and prosecutors pressure families to choose blood over other options, saying that it is their right and duty to their slain relative and to god," he added.

Last year, there were over 700 cases in which the plaintiff either asked for forgiveness or refused the penalty and sought blood money. He said, "The number of actual cases of execution was below 200 I think. Despite 40 years of promoting violence through the death penalty, there is an increasing number of people say no to them - even when it involves members of their family."