Secret Group Hanging of 6 Men in Tabriz; 900+ Executions in 2025

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, six men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 7 September. They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges. Three of men who were co-defendants have been identified as Tofigh Nemati (far left photo), a Kurdish man from the village of Bardizi in Urmia, Houshang Hanareh, a Kurdish man from the village of Khalian in Urmia, and Babak Omarzadeh (middle left photo), Kurdish man from the village of Gonbad in Urmia. They were arrested around five years ago.

The fourth man who was also a Kurdish minority has been identified as Keyvan Mamadi (far right photo) from the village of Darik in Salmas. He was on death row for five years.

The other two men’s identities have been established as Sadegh Bahmani and Mojtaba Salemi (middle right photo), both Tabriz natives. Sadegh was arrested four years ago and Mojtaba, six years ago.

The six men were transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells of the prison on Friday and their executions were carried out without their families being notified or the chance to say goodbye in last family visits.

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. At least 426 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first eight months of 2025.