Group Hanging of 5 Drug Defendants in Ghezelhesar Prison

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 12, 2025: Five men including three Kurdish minorities were executed in a group hanging in Ghezelhesar Prison. Massoud Naseri, Sajad Moradi Motlagh, Ardeshir Soltan Abadi, Hamed Hassani and Hatam Saeedi were all on death row for drug-related offences.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, five men were hanged in Ghezelhesar Prison on 11 June 2025. Sentenced to death on drug-related charges in separate cases, their identities have been established as:

1 . Massoud Naseri, 38-year-old Kurdish father of two from Kermanshah, on death row for five years

2. Sajad Moradi Motlagh, 32-year-old Kurdish father of one from Harsin, on death row for four years

3. Ardeshir Soltan Abadi, 43-year-old Kurdish man, on death row for five years

4. Hamed Hassani, 36-year-old father of three from Karaj, on death row for four years

5. Hatam Saeedi, 46-year-old father of three from Qom, on death row for three years

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 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. In the first five months of 2025, at least 244 people were hanged for drug-related offences.

Left to right: Hatam Saeedi, Hamed Hassani, Ardeshir Soltan Abadi, Sajad Moradi Motlagh and Massoud Naseri