Iran: Prisoner Transferred to Solitary Confinement Awaiting Execution for Drug Charges

According to IHR sources, a prisoner sentenced to death on drug-related charges was transferred to solitary confinement in Hamadan Central Prison on Monday, April 27, 2020. The identity of the prisoner has now been revealed by IHR sources as 30-year-old "Vahed Rostamzadeh” from Hamedan.

Prison authorities informed Mr Rostamzadeh’s family that they would be able to visit him for the last time on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. His death sentence is due to be carried out the next day, on April 29, 2020.

"Vahed Rostamzadeh was arrested five years ago on drug trafficking charges and sentenced to death," a well-informed source told IHR. It is unclear why his sentence has been upheld following the 2017 drug law reforms, which replaced the death penalty with life imprisonments and fines in many cases.

At least five prisoners have been executed on drug-related charges since the start of 2020.

According to the IHR's Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, 30 people were executed on drug charges in 2019.