Group Hanging of 4 Including Woman for Drug Offences in Rasht

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and three men were hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 26 October 2025. Their identities have been established as Mahboubeh Jalali, a 38-year-old woman from Roudsar, 48-year-old Kourosh Nasrollahzadeh from Fuman, Farhad Hatami, a Kurdish man from Kangavar, and 35-year-old Meisam Bagheri from Karaj. Kourosh and Farhad were arrested three years ago, Mahboubeh, four years ago, and Meisam, six years ago. They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mahboubeh was in a sigheh (temporary marriage) with the man she was arrested with. Under interrogations, he had said the discovered drugs belonged to Mahboubeh. Kouroush was also arrested with his wife and two children. His wife received a four-year prison term and his children were released.”

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

Mahboubeh Jalali is the 36th woman execution recorded in 2025 and the 11th to be hanged for drug-related offences. 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.