Public executions in Iran

[1] Under the rule of the Qajar dynasty (1789–1925), forms of public execution included hanging, throwing the condemned from the city walls, tying them to the mouth of a cannon and blowing them apart,[2] suffocating them in a carpet, or re-enacting the crime on the criminal.

[6] Executions largely occurred away from public view, and capital punishment was primarily restricted to murder, high treason, and armed rebellion.

[7] One rare public execution during this period was the hanging of the doctor of Tehran's Central Jail shortly after Reza Shah was deposed.

[9][10] In other instances, the condemned was placed standing on a stool, which was then abruptly removed, leaving the individual to suffocate to death but barely dangling off the ground.

"[9] In cases of murder, the guardian or a family member of the victim has the right to perform the public execution or hire another person to do it.

[13] Government authorities have generally avoided publicly executing political prisoners because it generates greater domestic and international outcry.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the boy was "an unexpected victim of a culture of public executions that remains pervasive in the Islamic republic."