Shahrokh Pouresmaili and Hossein Ghasemzadeh Secretly Hanged for Drug Offences

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 9 September 2026. Their identities have been established as 27-year-old Shahrokh Pouresmaili from Najaf Abad and Hossein Ghasemzadeh, a 54-year-old father of three from Bandarabbas.

Shahrokh was arrested three years ago and Hossein was arrested five years ago . They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. Their executions were carried out without prior notice, depriving them of the right to a last family visit.

 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.