Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 23, 2024: Fardin Mousazadeh, Mehdi Khadem and Hatef Shabani executed for drug-related charges, was executed in Meshghin Shahr Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were executed in Meshgin Shahr Prison on 18 May. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Fardin Mousazadeh from Meshgin Shahr, 27-year-old Mehdi Khadem from Parikhan village and 30-year-old Hatef Shabani who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “ Fardin Mousazadeh was a father of two and had been on death row for around five year ago. Mehdi and Hatef were arrested in separate cases three years ago.”
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 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020.
On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”