Group Hanging of 6 Including Woman in Isfahan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, five men and a woman were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 28 April 2025. Their identities have been established as Marjan Sabzi, a woman from Khorramabad, 35-year-old Rouhollah Palangi (right photo), 26-year-old Mohammad Totazehi (Hanif, middle photo), 40-year-old Abdolrashid Barahouyi (Enshini, right photo), three Baluch minorities, Reza Khaledi, an Arab minority, and 28-year-old Naser Feizi.

They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Rouhollah was from Rigan in Kerman and had been arrested five years ago. Mohammad and Abdolrashid were from Zahedan and were arrested for the same case seven years ago. Reza Khaledi was from Dezful and on death row for four years. Marjan Sabzi was arrested five year ago. Naser was from Rasht and on death row for four years.”

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 503 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only under 3% were announced by official sources. 17% of all drug-related executions in 2024 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

Marjan Sabzi is the ninth woman to be executed in 2025 according to IHRNGO data. Iran executes the highest number of women globally. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran, the highest number of recorded women executions in more than 15 years.

In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.