Mohsen Yaghouti and Hamzeh Farokhi Executed in Hamedan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 17 July. Their identities have been established as Mohsen Yaghouti and Hamzeh Farokhi who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges in the same case. Both men were Kangavar natives.

They were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions along with another prisoner named Sadegh Rezaie on 15 July. Sadegh who is on death row for murder, managed to obtain a two-month extension in his case.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Mohsen Yaghouti and Hamzeh Farokhi were arrested for the same case around two years ago and sentenced to death.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. At least 206 people were executed for drug-related charges in the first six months of 2023, a 126% rise compared to the same period in 2022 when 91 were executed. 40 people were executed in the same period in 2021.

The number of drug executions dramatically dropped in 2018 following a 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Laws. Consequently, drug executions ranged between 24-30 per annum between 2018-2020. The Amendment was reversed in practice in 2021 when executions increased ten-fold to 126 in 2021 and doubled again in 2022 with 256 drug-related executions.