Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 5, 2024: Newly obtained information reveals that Ahmadreza Touni was executed for drug-related offences with Malek Ashtar in Khorramabad Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, another man was executed in Khorramabad Central Prison on 3 August. His identity has been established as 47-year-old Ahmadreza Touni from Dezful who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court..
IHRNGO previously reported the execution of another man named Malek Ashtar at the prison that day, bringing the number of executions to two people.
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.”