Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 5, 2025: Sajad Pourdanesh, Meisam Joudaki, Mohammad Abakhti, Reza Bakhtavar, Fariborz Haghi, Ali Hosseinpour and an unidentified man were executed in a group hanging Karaj Penitentiary.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, seven men including three Kurds were hanged in Karaj Penitentiary on 3 August 2025. Six of the men have been identified as Sajad Pourdanesh, Meisam Joudaki, Mohammad Abakhti, Reza Bakhtavar, Fariborz Haghi and Ali Hosseinpour. The seventh man’s identity has not been established at the time of writing.
All seven men were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Fariborz was a Kurdish man from Nourabad in Lorestan and was arrested six years ago. Ali Hosseinpour was also a Kurdish man from Kouhdasht and was arrested six years ago. Mohammad Abakhti was a Kurdish man from Kermanshah and had been 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 six months of 2025, at least 293 people were executed for drug-related offences.