Yaghoub Amiri Executed for Drug Offences in Ardabil

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Ardabil Central Prison on 2nd May. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Yaghoub Amiri who was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Yaghoub Amir was arrested on the Sarcham to Ardabil road with 40kg of methamphetamines (shisheh) around four years ago.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not 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.

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.”