Five Men Including Four Baluch Minorities Executed for Drug Offences in Mashhad

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, five men were executed in Mashhad Central Prison on October 2. They were all sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Four of the men were Baluch minorities and their identities have been reported by Hal Vash as: Asef Shibak, 20-year-old Saeed Shibak, Ramezan Mazarzehi and Avaz Bilrani.

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

According to reports compiled by Iran Human Rights, at least 126 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2021, a fivefold increase compared to drug executions in the previous three years. This trend has continued into 2022, with 91 executions recorded in the first six months of 2022, double the number for the same period in 2021 when 40 people were executed.

At least 251 including 6 women and 67 Baluch minorities were executed in the first six months of 2022. This is double the number of executions in the same period in 2021 when 117 people were executed.