3 Men at Imminent Risk of Execution in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells of Tabriz Central Prison on 23 July. Their identities have been established as Behzad Sabouri, Ali Ashrafi and Davoud Bipanah.

They were all sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court and their executions are likely to be carried out in the coming hours.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”