Group Hanging of 3 Men for Drug Offences in Zanjan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men hanged in Zanjan Central Prison on 8 July 2025. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Alireza Bagheri (Alireza Bagheri), 34-year-old Mehran Habibi and Esmail Valipour. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Alireza was from Zanjan and had been arrested three years ago. Mehran was from Takestan and arrested four years ago. And, Esmail was from Zanjan and on death row for two 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 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. In the first six months of 2025, at least 293 people were executed for drug-related offences.