Baluch Ali Ranjbar Executed for Drug Offences in Bandarabbas

According to the Baluch Activists Campaign, a Baluch man was executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison on the morning of 15 June. His identity has been reported as Ali Ranjbar from Minab who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences.

Ali was deprived of the right to a lawyer during his legal proceedings but had repeatedly denied the charges against him.

An informed source said: “The judicial and security forces fabricated the case against him. They had also charged him with ‘propaganda against the system’ and baghy (armed rebellion) which he was acquitted of due to a lack of evidence.”

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

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.

Data gathered by Iran Human Rights also shows that Baluch prisoners accounted for 21% of all executions in 2021, while only representing 2–6% of Iran’s population. Furthermore, 25% of the 168 recorded executions in the first five months of 2022 were Baluch minorities.