Hamed Darvishi and Mostafa Rouzbehani Executed in Khorramabad

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Khorramabad (Parsilion) Central Prison on 6th November. Their identities have been established as Hamed Darvishi (photo) and Mostafa Rouzbehani who were both around 40 years old and on death row for drug-related offences.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Hamed Darvishi was a taxi driver from Boroujerd and was arrested three years ago. Mostafa was also a Boroujerd native who was on death row for four 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.”