Mohsen Aziz Farkhani Hanged for Drug Offences After Surviving Death Row for Murder

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 27 November 2025. His identity has been established as 47-year-old Mohsen Aziz Farkhani from Mashhad. He was arrested around five years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohsen was incarcerated since around the age of 32. He was initially arrested for murder and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind). After ten years behind bars, he was released because his victim’s next of kin agreed to forgo execution. Five years ago, he was rearrested for drug offences and sentenced to death.”

At the time of writing, his execution has 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 612 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first ten months of 2025.