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The Islamic Penal Code of Iran describes the legal punishments for adultery as a capital offense. The specific details pertaining to the ritual of stoning to death is also provided by the law as are the details of execution of other adultery punishments. Here is a translation of the related Directive.

Translated by: Dr. Soheila Vahdati
Compared with the original text by: Hossein Raeesi, Attorney at Law

The Directive on Implementation Regulations for Sentences of Retribution-in-Kind, Stoning*, Murder, Crucifixion, Death Penalty, and Flogging

As described in Article 293 of the Ordinance on Procedures of the Revolutionary and Common Courts in Penal Matters

Date: 27/6/1382

No. 1562/01/444


Chapter One
Implementation of Sentences Leading to Taking of Human Life

First Topic

Implementation Conditions


Article 1- The preliminary court issuing the sentence, after the sentence is finalized and a copy of it is submitted to the condemned or their attorney as the case may be, is obliged to send a copy of the finalized sentence in a letter containing the necessary explanations along with the related documents for implementation to the judicial authority for sentence implementation

Amendment - The judicial authority for sentence implementation‎ refers to the unit for execution of penal sentences which is under the supervision of the public prosecutor or his deputy and in the areas where a court has not yet been established it is under the supervision of the chief of the judiciary or his assistant.

Article 2 –The retribution of life sentence will be executed after its confirmation by the primary court issuing the sentence and the granting of permission by the Muslims’ Affair Trustee [the
Supreme Leader], and its confirmation by the Head of Judiciary with the permission of the heir(s) to the blood.


Article 3 – If one of the judicial authorities, as permissible by law, requests an appeal of the final sentence, then the execution of the sentence will be delayed until the final decision has been made in the case.


Article 4 – Except for the case of life retribution, if the person sentenced to the death penalty, killing, stoning, crucifixion, or limb amputation pleads for mercy after the final confirmation of the sentence but prior to its execution, then the execution of the punishment will be delayed by order of the court issuing the sentence until the result is announced by the Commission of Amnesty and Clemency. The above mentioned commission is obliged to urgently process the plea and notify the court of the result.


Article 5 – The advent of insanity, apostasy, sickness, or menstruation of the condemned will not prevent the execution of death penalty or life retribution. However, in the case of sickness, if the judicial physician or the reliable physician declares that the sickness is too severe to allow the ritual mandated by this directive to be carried out, and the judge who issued the preliminary sentence or the relevant prosecutor approves, then the execution of the sentence will be delayed until the impediment is removed.


Article 6 – During pregnancy and lochia, death penalty, adultery punishments (Hadd), and life retribution shall not be carried out. Similarly, after delivery, if execution of the sentence would harm the health of the child due to weaning from mother’s breast milk, then by the discretion of the judicial physician or the reliable physician and approval of the judge issuing the sentence or the relevant prosecutor, the execution of the sentence will be delayed until the baby reaches the age of two years.


Second Topic

Ritual of Implementation


Article 7 – After receiving the final sentence and its implementation order from the court, the judicial authority in charge of sentence execution‎ is obliged to notify the following individuals and authorities of the arrangements at least 48 hours prior to the time of sentence implementation and ask them to be present at the implementation place to perform their assigned duties:
a- The judge who issued the preliminary sentence, if his presence is required by the law.
b- The prison office chief or his deputy for making provisions for execution of the sentence and keeping order in the prison premises or cooperation with the enforcement officers for delivery of the prisoner in case the sentence is carried out outside the prison premises.
c- The local law enforcement chief or his deputy.
d- The judicial physician or the reliable physician (in the case where there is no local judicial physician) to examine the condemned and also provide opinion about their physical condition before the sentence is executed and to examine the corpse after it.
e- A member of the clergy or discerning person for carrying out the religious rites, and if the condemned is a member of an officially recognized religion, the relevant religious leader’s representative or their representative. In any case, absence of these people shall not prevent carrying out the sentence.
f- The court clerk in order to read the sentence before implementation.
g- The heirs to the blood of the slain or their attorney.
h- The attorney of the condemned, absence of the said attorney shall not prevent the sentence implementation.
i- The witnesses, in the case that their presence is required by the law.

Amendment 1 – If for some reasons, the presence of audience or special groups at the implementation place is not expedient, at the prosecutor’s discretion, the law enforcement officers shall prevent their entry to the implementation place. In places where the prosecutor office (daadsara) has not been established, this is at the discretion of the head of the county (hozeh) judicial chief.

Amendment 2 – Providing the implementation place outside of the prison premises is the responsibility of the law enforcement forces.


Article 8 – Prior to the execution of sentence, the judicial physician or the reliable physician accompanied by the judicial authority of the sentence execution shall go to the condemned’s prison, examine him/her and state an opinion. If the physical condition [of the condemned] is not an issue to prevent the sentence implementation, the judicial authority of the sentence execution will notify the condemned that they can request to meet certain people. In case such request is made, the requested people will be invited to the prison, given that granting the request does not delay the implementation of sentence.


Article 9 – Once the requested person or people are present, the prison chief or his deputy shall arrange their meeting with the condemned. The condemned has the right to convey anything in the presence or absence of the judicial authority of the sentence execution to the visitors verbally or in writing. Only the prison chief or his deputy shall be present at the meeting and aware of the communication. An interpreter’s service shall be used, if necessary.


Article 10 – The invited clergy or the discerning person shall take the following actions:
- Advise the condemned to repent.
- Advise the condemned to state their will is they have one.
- Advise the condemned about taking his/her own rites of body washing and shroud wrapping [the ritual for the Muslim corpse prior to burial] in the cases of life retribution and stoning.

Amendment 1 – Supervising the above is the responsibility of the judicial authority of the sentence execution and if necessary, then he, himself, will act to advise the condemned.

Amendment 2 – Where relevant, the law enforcement or prison officers will allow the condemned to take the washing ritual [of the dead] with lotus [Sidr] water, camphor water, and pure water and then, as it is prescribed by the rituals for the dead and according to the Shari’a regulations, cover her/himself with three pieces of white shroud (takfeen and hanoot). In this case, after executing the sentence and death of the condemned punished by stoning or life retribution will be needless of washing ritual and new shroud (kafan) and Muslim prayer for the dead will be done for him/her and they will be buried in the Muslim’s cemetery in the same condition, unless the condemned has not taken the washing ritual [of the dead] prior to execution of the sentence in which case the washing and other rituals of the dead will be performed for them.

Amendment 3 – If the condemned makes a will, upon the execution of sentence the aforementioned authorities shall send his/her writings and will, after the inspection and clearance by the judicial authority of the sentence execution, without delay to the specified address.

Amendment 4 – The expenses of executing the sentence in this article and its amendment shall be paid by the judiciary.


Article 11 – In case the condemned is non-Muslim, the required religious rites will be performed according to his/her religion prior to the execution of sentence. Absence of the relevant religious leader or his deputy will not prevent the sentence implementation.


Article 12 – If the condemned asks for food or drink, the officers are obliged to provide it except for when the request is made only to delay the execution of sentence. The discretion is with the judicial authority of the sentence execution.


Article 13 – In cases where the condemned is in prison and the sentence is carried out outside the prison, a minute shall be prepared and signed by judicial authority of the sentence execution, the prison chief or his deputy, the physician present, the court clerk and the local law enforcement chief or his deputy. The prison chief shall certify the identity of the prisoner and its correspondence with the details specified in the court sentence and sign it.


Third Topic
The Implementation Methods

A
rticle 14 – The life retribution, killing, and execution may be carried out by hanging on gallows, firing squad, or electricrocution or another method determined by the judge issuing the verdict.

Amendment – If there is no specification in the issued sentence about the method of execution, life retribution, or killing, then the condemned will be hanged.


Article 15 – The time of executing the sentence shall be the beginning of sunrise, unless the court has specified a certain time. The execution of the sentence, as the case may be, shall be done by the prison or law enforcement officers. But in the case of life retribution, the heir to the blood [of the slain] can personally perform retribution on the condemned or appoint a proxy [for this purpose].


Article 16 – Officers carrying out the sentence are obliged to carefully examine and inspect the implementation instruments, apparatus, and equipment and make sure that they are robust and ready for use to carry out the sentence. The aforementioned items shall not be such that they may inflict torture, torment or mutilation of the condemned in excess to what is required by the sentence. Moreover, the entire implementation process shall be performed by the expert individuals with ultimate calmness and without exercising violence.


Article 17 – The judicial authority of the sentence execution is charged with supervision of correct implementation and observation of the necessary rituals and non-delay and non-suspension. After observation of the mentioned rituals and conditions, the condemned shall be transferred under guard to the place of sentence implementation and then with the permission of the judicial authority for sentence execution, the court clerk shall read the sentence aloud and then with the order of the above mentioned authority, the content of the sentence shall be immediately carried out.

Amendment – If the person condemned to killing or stoning denies the charges before the sentence is carried out, and the case is subject to article 71 of the Islamic Penal Code [of Iran], the sentence execution judicial authority shall order the execution of the sentence to cease and the judicial authority who issued the sentence will be notified.


Article 18 – After the sentence is carried out, if the judicial physician or the reliable physician certifies the death of the condemned, the corpse will be taken out of the place of execution and submitted to the coroner. If the condemned’s relatives ask for the corpse, by discretion and order of the judicial authority of the sentence execution it will be submitted to them. Otherwise, [the condemned’s corpse] shall be buried according to the legal and religious rites. In the latter case, all the expenses will be paid from the national treasury.


Article 19 – A minute will be taken of the sentence execution and signed by the judicial authority for sentence execution, the prison office chief or his deputy, the local law enforcement chief or his deputy if the sentenced is carried out outside the prison, the judicial physician or the reliable physician, the court clerk, the heirs to the blood or their attorney and the condemned’s attorney (if present) and filed in the relevant dossier.


Article 20 – If deemed appropriate by the judicial authority of the sentence execution, the sentence implementation procedure will be filmed or photographed, as the case may be, by the prison authorities or law enforcement officers, and the films or photographs will be archived in the condemned’s file, and news of the sentence execution and the type of crime and a summary of the court sentence shall be published in the newspapers. In exceptional cases where on the decision of the Head of Judiciary or the authorized officials acting on his behalf, photographs of the condemned during the sentence execution shall be published in the media for public information.


Fourth Topic

The Ritual Particular to Performing Stoning Punishment


Article 21 – On the discretion of the judge ordering the sentence, the implementation authority will in advance notify the public of the time of sentence execution and at any rate it is necessary that at least three believers are present at the time of carrying out the punishment.

A
rticle 22 – The law enforcement or prison officers are obliged to, as the case may be, first dig the place of carrying out the punishment as specified in the Article 102 of the Islamic Penal Code[of Iran] and provide some stones at the place, of the size specified in Article 104 of the same code. The judge in charge of carrying out the punishment shall initially inspect the above mentioned preparations and then, after approving it, issue the order for carrying out the sentence.


Article 23 – If the stoning sentence is based on the condemned’s confession then at the time of execution, the sentencing judge will throw the first stone and then the other people. But if the condemnation is based on the testimonies of witnesses, then first the witnesses will throw stones, then the mentioned judge and then other people.

Amendment 1 – The sentencing judge refers to the judge who issued the preliminary sentence, unless the Discretion Branch of the High State Court has revoked the preliminary sentence and issued the stoning sentence in which case the Chair of the above mentioned branch or one of the members of the branch assigned by the Chair will throw the first stone.

Amendment 2 – Absence or inaction of the sentencing judge and witnesses to throw the first stone will not prevent the execution of the punishment and in any case the punishment will be carried out by the order of the sentence execution judge, unless the adultery has been proven by the testimony of witnesses and the witnesses escape during the execution of the sentence, or if the adultery is proven by confession and the condemned escapes from the pit in which they are put in, in which both cases the punishment is annulled and the sentence execution judge will order the implementation to be stopped. The case is the same if it is subject to article 71 of the Islamic Penal Code [of Iran] ratified in 1370 [1991] and it shall proceed according to the amendment of article 17 of this directive.


Fifth Topic

The Ritual Particular for Implementation of Crucifixion Punishment


Article 24 – In performing crucifixion punishment, the condemned shall be bound to the gallows constructed in the shape of a cross with his back to the cross and his face to the Qeblah**[Mecca] and his feet having some vertical distance from the ground and kept in the same position for three days guarded and protected by the law enforcement officers. At the end of three day period, the condemned shall be brought down from the gallows and in case of death will be buried after performing the religious rites and if [not dead and] needs medical attention, then providing medical treatment is allowed.

Amendment – If the death of the crucified becomes certain earlier than three days, then bringing down the corpse for performing the religious rites and shroud wrapping and burial is allowed.


Chapter Two
Implementation of the Punishment that Requires Limb Amputation



Article 25 – In organ retribution or limb amputation in performing Hadd punishments, it is mandatory to follow articles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 of this Directive in addition to the regulations and provisions outlined in the Islamic Penal Code [of Iran].


Article 26 – The presence of a physician in order to exercise discretion and performing articles 272, 275, 290, and 291 of the Islamic Penal Code [of Iran] is mandatory.


Chapter Three
Implementation of Flogging Punishment



Article 27 – Flogging is implemented using a thread leather strap of the approximate length of one meter and the approximate width of 1/5 centimeter.


Article 28 – The hands and feet of the condemned shall be bound to the place of the sentence execution as far as possible in order to prevent needless movements of the condemned that may cause infliction of lashes to the prohibited areas.

Amendment – The prohibited areas refer to head, face and genitals.


Article 29 – When flogging punishment is performed in a closed area, the temperature must be mild and if performed in an open area, the temperature shall not be too cold or too hot. The flogging should be performed during the warmer hours of the day in cold regions and in cooler hours of the day in warm regions.


Article 30 – Implementation of flogging punishment in terms of vigorousness and weakness of lashes is as the following:
Flogging punishment for adultery (zena) and sexual contact without penetration (tafkheez) is more vigorous than that for alcohol consumption and punishment for alcohol consumption is more vigorous than that of false accusation (qazf) and pimping (qavvadi).


Article 31 – Execution of flogging punishment shall be with respect to Article 300 of the Directive of General and Revolutionary Court Hearing Procedures in Penal Matters according to the regulations set by the Islamic Penal Code [of Iran].

Article 32 – Flogging of condemned females shall be performed as they are seated and have their clothes bound to their bodies.



Article 33 – Flogging of condemned males shall be carried out as they are standing, and in the cases of adultery, sexual contact without penetration (tafkheez) and alcohol consumption, have no clothing but to cover the genitals, and in the cases of pimping and false testimony(qazf), flogging is performed over regular clothing.


Article 34 – Flogging by Tazeer [rather than Hadd] shall be performed according to article 288 of the Directive of General and Revolutionary Court Hearing Procedures in Penal Matters as follows:
a– Flogging is implemented as the condemned is lied flat on stomach and wears regular clothing and lashes are inflicted on the back of the body except for the head, face and genitals.
b- The flogging is implemented consistently and with medium severity.

Article 35 – This Directive has been approved by the Head of Judiciary in 36 articles (where is article 36?) and 7 amendments in implementation of article 293 of the Directive of General and Revolutionary Court Hearing Procedures in Penal Matters ratified by the Legal and Judiciary Affairs Commission of the Islamic Parliament on 1376/6/28 (September 19, 1999).

Head of Judiciary – Seyed Mamoud Shahroudi

* Note by translators: Stoning in the Islamic Penal Code of Iran refers to stoning to death.

**Note by translators: Qeblah is located in Mecca and Muslims face its direction for praying.