Baluch Prisoner Azim Karimizayi Executed on Drug Charges

According to the Baluch Activists Campaign, Baluch prisoner, Azim Karimzayi was executed in Mashhad Central Prison on June 30. He was sentenced to death on drug related charges.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

It has been almost four years since an Article was added to the Anti-Narcotics Law in 2017 to limit death sentences specifically and provide a general degree of reprieve in some cases. However, while the numbers reduced that year, the death penalty is still being used in drug-related cases.

According to Iran Human Rights’ Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 25 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2020. However, at least 40 people have so far been executed on drug-related charges in 2021.

On May 3, IHR published a report on the death penalty in the first four months of 2021 expressing concern at the significant increase in the number of drug-related executions and continues to warn of the continuation of this trend.