As a photojournalist, I have witnessed many executions. In my early years, I could endure the harsh reality of these events, but certain moments stayed with me forever. The first execution I ever photographed was that of Bijeh, a notorious serial killer. Terrified, I hid behind my viewfinder, taking rapid shots to distract myself from the suffocating heat. My hands shook, my photos blurred—a battle between my instincts as …

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    On January 21, 2013, I photographed an execution outside Iran’s House of Artists. I had attended the court hearing of four young men convicted of armed robbery. A viral CCTV video had captured their crime. The plaintiff, however, opposed the death penalty, stating that harsh punishment was unnecessary. Yet the court ruled for execution. I was asked to cover the event. I hesitated. I disliked capturing brutal scenes—they …

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    5 AM, Vozara Street, Tehran. Not fully dark, not yet light. People walk in silence, avoiding eye contact—like former classmates pretending not to recognize each other. At the courthouse, rows of soldiers stand guard. The closer I get, the more severe their posture becomes. A scaffold is set, adorned with flowers and the image of a murdered judge labeled as a martyr. I push through the front-row spectators—the …

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I joined the “Entertainment in Public” project midway. The project needed a writer, and I was drawn to its interdisciplinary and narrative-driven approach. Before this, the guillotine was, for me, a distant historical artifact—a wooden structure with a sharp blade, mostly known through literature. It was only through researching its history that it took on a haunting presence. Initially designed as a “humane” execution method, the guillotine became a tool …

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