Yasin Rezaeipour, 70th Person Executed on Drug Charges in 2021

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in in Yazd Central Prison on September 1. His identity has been established as Qazvin-native, Yasin Rezaeipour, who was sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

Speaking to IHR, an informed source said: “Yasin Rezaeipour had been in prison for around five years. He was arrested on charges of carrying methamphetamine and crack. His co-defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was transferred to Qazvin Prison two years ago.”

At the time of writing, his execution has 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 70 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.