Group Hanging of 4 Men in Isfahan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least four men were hanged in Isfahan Central Prison on 20 August 2025. Two of the men who were on death row for drug-related offences have been identified as 38-year-old Hossein Karimi (left photo) from Khomeini city, and 40-year-old Reza Abbasi (right photo) from Najaf Abad. They were arrested four and three years respectively, and sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

The other two men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Taleb Reikani and Morteza Sayvand (middle photo), both aged around 35 and arrested for separate murders five years ago. Taleb was from Ahvaz and Morteza, from Khorramabad.

There is no news about the fate of four other prisoners transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells with the executed group.

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. At least 347 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first seven months of 2025.