Mohammad Ali Narouyi and Mohammad Bakhsh Shahbakhsh Hanged for Drug Offences in Damghan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least two Baluch men were hanged in Damghan Prison on 1 August 2026. Their identities have been established as 50-year-old Mohammad Ali Narouyi (right photo) and 42-year-old Mohammad Bakhsh Shahbakh (left photo). They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohammad Bakhsh Shahbakhsh, also married and a father of five from Zahedan, was arrested roughly four and a half years ago. Mohammad Ali Narouyi, a married father of four, was arrested five years ago. He was merely transporting goods for someone else and had no idea the cargo contained narcotics. He was detained at a checkpoint while the real owner of the load fled. The court dismissed his defence and ultimately sentenced him to death for a crime he did not commit.”

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 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 795 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only 0.18% were announced by official sources. 13% of all drug-related executions in 2025 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

In December 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “A Village of Graves: Widespread and Systematic Drug Executions in Iran,” which provides an overview of drug laws and documents the systematic violation of due process and fair trial rights in drug cases.