At Least 3 Men Executed for Drug Offences in Khorramabad

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Khorramabad Central Prison on 1st August. Their identities have been established as Zabih Zahedi from Ramhormoz and Hamed Parseh from Khorramabad who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Furthermore, at least another man was executed at the prison on 3 August. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Malek Ashtar (photo) from Dezful. He was also on death row for drug-related charges.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Malek Ashtar was arrested for carrying heroine around four years ago. Hamed Parseh was arrested around three years ago and Zabih Zahedi was on death row for around two years.”

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 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.”