3 Men Hanged for Drug Offences in Zanjan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 30th December. His identity has been established as Karim Bahmani (left photo), a 37-year-old father of one from Tabriz who was an estate agent prior to his arrest three years ago.

Two other men were executed at the prison on 2nd January. Their identities have been established as 50-year-old Mostafa Shakeri from Bushehr and 43-year-old Khosro Khodadadi (right photo) from Sari. Mostafa was on death row for three years and Khosro owned a wedding venue prior to his arrest two years and eight months ago.

All three men were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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.”