Mohsen Amiraslani

Their life

Mohsen Amiraslani Zanjani (1977 – September 24, 2014) was a 37-year-old Iranian psychoanalyst who was executed after spending eight years in prison, officially for blasphemy and allegedly insulting the prophet Jonah. He left behind a two-year-old child.

Mohsen Amiraslani Zanjani (Persian: محسن امیراصلانی زنجانی) was born in 1977 and worked as a psychoanalyst in Iran. He was arrested and imprisoned for eight years before being executed on September 24, 2014, at the age of 37. His original conviction was based on religious charges of "heresy," specifically for rejecting the Quranic story of Jonah and the Whale—charges which do not warrant the death penalty under Iranian law.

Although Iranian authorities later claimed his execution was related to accusations of rape, legal experts and human rights defenders, including attorney Hossein Raeesi, noted that the case lacked sufficient evidence and violated multiple aspects of Iran’s own Criminal Procedure Code. Amiraslani’s execution drew widespread criticism from both local and international human rights organizations. He left behind a young child, just two years old at the time of his death, symbolizing yet another tragic loss in the context of Iran’s harsh treatment of dissenting voices and independent thinkers.

How they died

executed for blasphemy and insulting to prophet Jonah.

Additional context

Mohsen Amiraslani Zanjani (1977 – September 24, 2014) was an Iranian psychoanalyst who was executed on charges of blasphemy and allegedly insulting the prophet Jonah.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Mohsen Amiraslani, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources