3 Men Executed in Ghezelhesar Prison

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man named Ali Khoshavaz was executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 21 April. He was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Iran Human Rights previously reported the executions of Abdolbari Pashtu and Alireza Pourshahbaz for drug offences at the prison that day.

Furthermore, two other men were executed at the prison on 24 April. Their identities have been established as Shahram Sharghi and Alireza Aghayi who were both 35 years old and from Tehran. They were sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Ali Khoshavaz was executed for just 5kg of drugs. Shahram Sharghi was arrested 14 years ago and Alireza Aghayi was arrested five years ago.”

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

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. Baluch minorities who constitute 2-6% of Iran’s population, made up 30% of drug executions in 2023.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.