Death Sentence of the Killer of Setayesh Qureshi Confirmed

According to reports, the Supreme Court of the country has confirmed the initial court ruling in the murder case of Setayesh Qureshi, a six-year-old Afghan girl, under which the accused has been sentenced to one instance of qisas (retribution) and one instance of execution due to "rape." The murder of Setayesh Qureshi by a 17-year-old Iranian neighbor in Varamin, part of Tehran province, has garnered significant attention and impacted the Persian-speaking social media in Iran and Afghanistan. Asghar Qasemi Aqbash, the lawyer for the victim's family, stated on Monday, January 20, in an interview with ILNA news agency that the 32nd branch of the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling issued by the 7th branch of the Tehran Criminal Court. According to Mr. Qasemi Aqbash, under this ruling, the killer has been sentenced to qisas for premeditated murder, to execution for "rape," and to pay blood money and receive 74 lashes for "crimes against the corpse." He also mentioned that the family of Setayesh Qureshi must pay half the blood money of a Muslim man to the family of the accused for the execution of the qisas sentence. The killer was initially sentenced to "one execution and one qisas" for "committing premeditated murder and rape." On Sunday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, also announced the confirmation of the qisas sentence for the accused. Death sentences issued in Iranian courts can be appealed in the Supreme Court. It had previously been reported that the family of Setayesh Qureshi demanded the execution of the accused. If the Supreme Court's ruling is not overturned by the head of the judiciary, even if the family of Setayesh Qureshi consents, her killer will be executed. On Monday, April 30, the police prevented a gathering in front of the Afghan embassy to light candles and express condolences to the family of Setayesh Qureshi, and several participants in a nearby park, including some Afghan citizens, were arrested. The Afghan Youth Civil Society Association warned the Iranian government that if the killer of Setayesh Qureshi is not executed soon, they will shut down the Iranian embassy in Kabul with their civil movements. In contrast, human rights organizations oppose the execution of death sentences in Iran, especially for individuals under 18 years old. In this regard, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also expressed concern about the continuation of the execution of offenders under 18 years old on Tuesday, September 23, criticizing the number of executions in Iran.