Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); March 8, 2023: Six Baluch men sentenced to death for drug-related charges, were executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison.
According to Hal Vash, five Baluch men were executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison on March 6 and 7. The identities of three of the men who were executed on March 6 have been reported as 30-year-old Mohammad Amin Javshiri, Bahram Behzadi and Hamid Shahuzehi.
Two other Baluch men were executed at the prison on March 7. Their identities were reported as Shehbakhsh Ostadi and Meisam Bahrami.
They were all sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
According to Hal Vash, Massoud Tahmasebi was also executed for drug-related charges at the prison on January 17. His execution has not been officially announced despite nearly two months passing.
At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
On January 27, Iran Human Rights warned of the high number of drug executions currently being carried out in Iran. Of the 66 executions carried out in January, at least 43 (65%) people were executed for drug-related charges, none of which were officially announced.
Drug executions dramatically dropped between 2018-2020 following the Amendment to the Anti-Drug Laws in 2017. However, this reversed in practice in 2021 when numbers increased by five-fold and have continued to rise throughout 2022 and 2023.