Iraj Shabdiz and Ali Ahmadzadeh Executed in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Gorgan Central Prison on 6th November. Their identities have been established 40-year-old Iraj Shabdiz from Gonbad Kavous and 47-year-old Ali Ahmadzadeh from Gorgan (photo) who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Iraj was a plumber prior to his arrest two years ago. Ali Ahmadzadeh was a vehicle painter and arrested for possession and carrying 75 kilograms of shisheh (methamphetamine) and 20 kilograms of heroin three years ago.

At the time of writing, their executions 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.”