Arvin Ghahremani

Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani (Hebrew: ארווין נתנאל בן סיונה) (died 4 November 2024) was an Iranian Jewish man executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran in November 2024. He was sentenced to death for the fatal stabbing of Amir Shokri, a Muslim man whom Ghahremani said had ambushed him over a financial dispute.

Human rights advocates, Jewish community leaders, and international observers raised concerns about the fairness of his trial, alleging judicial bias, suppression of self-defense claims, and antisemitic motives. Although Shokri's family initially agreed to accept diya (blood money) in lieu of execution, they later withdrew the offer, reportedly after learning of Ghahremani's Jewish identity. Efforts by Iran's Jewish community, international Jewish organizations, and multiple foreign governments to halt the execution, including offers exceeding $1 million and the proposal to build a mosque in Shokri's name, were unsuccessful. On 4 November, Ghahremani was hanged without prior notice to his family after Iran's Supreme Court rejected his request for retrial.

He was the first Jewish person executed in Iran since 1994. The case prompted global condemnation, including from Israel and the U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism, and was viewed by many as emblematic of systemic discrimination against religious minorities in Iran.

Ghahremani was born in an Iranian Jewish family from Kermanshah, Iran.^[1]

In November 2022, 18-year-old Ghahremani was involved in an altercation in which he was ambushed by seven men at a gym, including Amir Shokri, a Muslim man who owed Gharemani money. According to accounts, Shokri pulled a knife on Ghahremani, and the resulting altercation resulted in Shokri's death.^[1][2]

During his trial, supporters of Ghahremani, including political figures and human rights activists, expressed concerns that he was not receiving a fair trial. Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, expressed concerns that Ghahremani was not receiving a fair trial because he was Jewish.^[3] Concerns were also raised that elements of his defense were ignored during trial, including that he acted in self-defense and rendered aid to the injured party. Gharemani's family contended that Gharemani did not receive adequate representation by his lawyer, that "key errors in the case were intentionally ignored," and that Gharemani's attempts to save the victim were not accounted for during the trial.^[3] Additionally, according to experts on Iran's judicial system and rights activists, Ghahremani was subjected to a discriminatory judicial system that prioritized Muslims over Jews.^[4][5][6]

Ghahremani was sentenced to qisas (a form of retributive justice in traditional Islamic law) for murder, with the execution to be carried out at Kermanshah Central Prison on 18 May 2024, which was later delayed until 20 May.^[1][2][4]

Under Iranian law, victims' relatives may accept a financial settlement as an alternative punishment.^[3] Initially, Shokri's family agreed to accept diya (blood money) in lieu of capital punishment; however, they subsequently retracted their decision and demanded Gharemani's execution upon learning of his Jewish background, according to Iran Human Rights.^[7][8] Shokri's family repeatedly refused to accept $1 million in diyat, and multiple attempts by Kermanshah Kalimian Association, the Jewish community in Kermanshah, to mediate with Islamic officials and through Iran's Council for Dispute Resolution were unsuccessful.^[9][1]

The community also made appeals to the governments of Russia and Germany.^[10] Global Jewish communities raised over $1.5 million and offered to build a mosque in the name of the deceased.^[4][6]

On 19 May, Ghahremani received a one-month stay of execution following a global pressure campaign, including by Persian Jewish communities around the world^[1] and human rights organizations such as Iran Human Rights.^[2] In the previous 28 days before Ghahremani's stay, more than 103 people were executed in Iran.^[4]

On 25 May, Iran's Supreme Court denied a request for retrial.^[11] Ghahremani was hanged^[12] on 4 November after the Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence.^[13] He was executed without prior notice to his family.^[6]

Ghahremani was the first Jewish person executed in Iran since 1994, when 77-year-old Feysollah Mechubad was put to death for "associating with Zionism," following earlier executions of Habib Elghanian in 1979 and Avraham Boruchim in 1980.^[14]

American Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt condemned the execution on 6 November.^[6]

Human rights activists argued that the case constituted an example of the discriminatory nature of Iran's execution laws, which mandate capital punishment for the killing of a Muslim by a non-Muslim, but typically demand only financial compensation for the killing of a non-Muslim by a Muslim.^[7]

Analysts and members of the Jewish community of Iran linked the timing of Ghahremani's execution to the October 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran, suggesting that Iran refused to grant clemency to a Jewish man during this period of political tension.^[9]

Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam criticized the execution, stating that the case had "significant flaws."^[15] He stated, "In the midst of the threats of war with Israel, the Islamic Republic executed Arvin Ghahremani, an Iranian Jewish citizen." He added, "However, in addition to this, Arvin was a Jew, and the institutionalized anti-Semitism in the Islamic Republic undoubtedly played a crucial role in the execution of his sentence."^[15]

Israel condemned Ghahremani's execution, with its Foreign Ministry’s Persian-language X account posting his photo alongside a statement calling the Islamic Republic regime "a criminal and bloodthirsty sect."^[14]

Iran's Jewish leaders responded with more restrained messages. Homayoon Sameh Yeh Najafabadi, the Jewish community's representative in parliament, shared a condolence letter via Telegram, while Chief Rabbi Yehuda Gerami posted a photo of Ghahremani in prison alongside the customary Hebrew phrase, "Blessed is the true judge."^[14]

• Habib Elghanian, Iranian Jew executed shortly after the Iranian Revolution in 1979
• Capital punishment in Iran
• History of the Jews in Iran
• Reyhaneh Jabbari
• Atefeh Sahaaleh