{"id":4516,"date":"2025-12-09T19:04:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/?p=4516"},"modified":"2025-12-09T21:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:40:15","slug":"report-goli-kouhkan-spared-from-execution-after-forgiveness-by-the-victims-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/report-goli-kouhkan-spared-from-execution-after-forgiveness-by-the-victims-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Goli Kouhkan Spared from Execution After Forgiveness by the Victim\u2019s Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Goli Kouhkan<\/em>, a Baloch woman from Iran\u2019s Golestan Province who had been sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind) for the 2018 killing of her husband, was spared from execution on Tuesday, December 9 , 2025, after the victim\u2019s family granted full and unconditional forgiveness. The head of Golestan\u2019s Judiciary confirmed the decision, describing it as made \u201cin honor of the status of mothers and the birth anniversary of Lady Fatemeh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unexpected development came at a time when Kouhkan and her family had only until the end of December to raise the substantial amount of blood money (diya) demanded by the victim\u2019s family. Civil society groups and citizens had been actively fundraising in recent days amid fears that the execution might be carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Goli Kouhkan was forced into marriage with her cousin at the age of 12 and, according to relatives, endured years of severe domestic violence. In 2018, during a family altercation that resulted in her husband’s death, she was arrested and later charged with \u201cparticipation in murder,\u201d ultimately receiving a qisas sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Rights Concerns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to UN human rights experts, this case exemplified:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • structural discrimination against women,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • forced and child marriage,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • prolonged domestic violence,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • unfair judicial proceedings and lack of access to legal counsel,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • and coerced confessions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    They had previously warned against carrying out the sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Blood Money Negotiations and the Family\u2019s Pardon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Initially, the victim\u2019s family set two conditions for granting forgiveness:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • payment of 10 billion tomans in blood money, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Kouhkan\u2019s permanent relocation from the city of Gorgan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Subsequent negotiations reduced the amount to 8 billion tomans, a sum still impossible for her family and supporters to raise, increasing fears that the execution might proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, in an unexpected turn, the victim\u2019s family announced today that they were pardoning Kouhkan unconditionally. In a video message, the victim\u2019s father said they chose to forgo retribution \u201cin honor of the status of mothers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Social Significance of the Case<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Goli Kouhkan\u2019s case had become a symbol of domestic violence, forced marriage, economic hardship, and the lack of protective mechanisms for women in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Many observers view her rescue from execution as the result of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • public support and social solidarity,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • the efforts of civil society organizations,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • and the compassionate decision of the victim\u2019s family.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Goli Kouhkan, a Baloch woman from Iran\u2019s Golestan Province who had been sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind) for the 2018 killing of her husband, was spared from execution on Tuesday, December 9 , 2025, after the victim\u2019s family granted full and unconditional forgiveness. The head of Golestan\u2019s Judiciary confirmed the decision, describing it as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-execution","category-women_rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4516"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4519,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4516\/revisions\/4519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhrg.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}