Iran Human Rights (IHR); July 18, 2021: Raouf Rezaeifar, Mohammad Farokhi and Hashem Bavarmand who were on death row for drug charges have been executed in Isfahan Central Prison. At least 48 prisoners, including one woman, have been executed on drug-related charges in Iranian prisons in 2021.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were executed on drug charges on the morning of July 13 in Isfahan Central Prison. Their identities have been established as Raouf Rezaeifar, Mohammad Farokhi and Hashem Bavarmand.
An informed source told IHR: “Raouf and Hashem were co-defendants in the same case and had been in prison on charges of carrying 150 kilograms of drugs and weapons for five years. Raouf was 42 and had a young child.”
It is worth mentioning that brothers Amir and Akbar Jalilifar were executed at the prison on July 11.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
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 45 people have so far been executed on the same charge 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.