Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 12, 2025: Soudabeh Ghasemzadeh, Zaker Aramesh, Ali Mobasher and Hossein Rezaei were executed in a group hanging in Isfahan Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men and a woman were executed in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 11 August 2025. The three men have been identified as Zaker Aramesh (right photo), a 27-year-old Baluch man from Sarbaz, Ali Mobasher (middle photo), a 43-year-old Bakhtiari father of one from Isfahan and 45-year-old Hossein Rezaei (left photo) from Isfahan. Zaker and Ali were arrested four years ago and Hossein, five years ago. They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
The identity of the woman has been established as Soudabeh Ghassemzadeh, a 45-year-old mother of three from Isfahan. She was arrested for the murder of her husband six years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
None of their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran at the time of writing.
Soudabeh Ghassemzadeh is the 20th woman execution recorded in 2025. Iran executes the highest number of women globally. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran, the highest number of recorded women executions in more than 15 years.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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. At least 347 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first seven months of 2025.