Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 9, 2025: Zahra Mirghafari and Omid Feizi, a woman and a man on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Tabriz Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and a man were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 8 November 2025. Their identities have been established as Zahra Mirghafari, a 43-year-old Hashtroud native and 28-year-old Omid Feizi.
Zahran was arrested around five years ago and Omid, around three years ago. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Zahra had two daughters aged 9 and 13. She was arrested after four kilograms of narcotics were discovered in a search of her home’s storage unit.”
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Zahra Mirghafari is the 39th woman execution recorded in 2025 and the 13th 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 612 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first ten months of 2025.