Group Hanging of 5 Including Woman in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and four men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 15 October 2025. Three of the men were on death row for drug-related offences. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Touraj Rostami, Milad Jahani from Shiraz and 34-year-old Nasir Baba Mohammadi from Marvdasht.

Touraj and Milad were arrested three years ago and Nasir, four years ago. Touraj and Milad were transferred from Pirbanu Prison for execution in Shiraz Central Prison.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Touraj Rostami had been taking psychiatric medication for a long time and suffered from mental disorders.”

The fourth man and woman were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. They have been identified as Sajad Shahriari Golmakani (photo) and 30-year-old Kafieh Ghobadzadeh from Isfahan.

“Sajad was arrested for the murder of his wife nine years ago. Kafieh was arrested for the murder of her husband seven years ago, when she was 23. Her husband was always suspicious, Kafieh stabbed him after an argument.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Kafieh Ghobadzadeh is the 31st woman execution recorded in 2025 and the 23rd to be hanged for murder. 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. 

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 517 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first nine months of 2025.