3 Men Hanged for Drug Offences in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 25 December. Their identities have been established as 33-year-old Iman Yazdani (left photo) from Jahrom, 45-year-old Mohammad Ali Soleiman Khani (right photo) and 35-year-old Davoud Barati, both from Khomein. They were all sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Courts.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Iman Yazdani was arrested two years ago. Mohammad Ali and Davoud were arrested in the same case three years ago. Mohammad Ali was a father of two. They were transferred for their execution from Pirbanu Prison and none of them had last family visits.”

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.”