Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 16, 2025: Seven prisoners including a woman and and Afghan national were executed in two group hangings in Isfahan Central Prison. Peyman Alizadeh, Sobhan Safinejad, Massoud Mansouri, Zeinab Khodabandeh, Maziar Bahrami, Adel Shirkhani and Hazrat Eshaghzi were all on death row for drug-related offences.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men and a woman were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 13 October 2025. Their identities have been established as Zeinab Khodabandeh, co-defendants Peyman Alizadeh and Massoud Mansouri from Khomeini Shahr and Sobhan Safinejad from Isfahan.
On 15 October, another group hanging of three men took place at the prison. They have been identified as 30-year-old Maziar Bahrami from Shahre Reza, 27-year-old Adel Shirkhani and Hazrat Eshaghzi, an Afghan father of two from Farah province in Afghanistan who resided on Qeshm island.
Peyman and Massoud were arrested around four years ago, Sobhan and Maziar were arrested three years ago, and Adel, five years ago. Hazrat was arrested in Isfahan around four years ago and his execution was carried out secretly, without prior notification to his family. Adel was held in Kashan Prison and transferred to Isfahan Central Prison for execution two weeks prior.
All seven prisoners were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Courts.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Zeinab Khodabandeh is the 32nd woman execution recorded in 2025 and the ninth to be hanged for drug-related offences. 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 517 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first nine months of 2025.