Touraj Keshavarz and Ali Samandarnejad Executed for Drug Charges in Zanjan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Zanjan Central Prison on 11 June. Their identities have been established as 45-year-old Ali Samandarnejad from Hashtroud and Touraj Keshavarz from Hamedan. They were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Speaking to Iran Human Rights about the executed men, an informed source said: “Touraj Keshavarz was a father of two and had been behind bars for four years. He was a lorry driver prior to his arrest. Ali Samandarnejad had also been in prison for four years for charges of carrying 110 kilograms of  methamphetamine.”

At the time of writing, neither of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Two other prisoners who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions in the past few days.

According to reports compiled by Iran Human Rights, at least 126 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2021, a fivefold increase compared to drug executions in the previous three years. None of the 2021 drug-related executions were reported by official sources.