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4 Men Including 2 Baluch Executed in Kerman

18 May 23
4 Men Including 2 Baluch Executed in Kerman

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 18, 2023: Four men including two Baluch minorities, were executed for drug-related charges in Kerman Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Kerman Central Prison on 18 May. The identities of three of the men sentenced to death for drug-related charges have been established as Hossein Poursheikh, Omid Jan Abadi and Nabiollah Zaboli. The latter two were Baluch minorities.

The fourth man’s identity has not been established at the time of writing.

According to Hal Vash which first reported the executions, they were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions on 16 May.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Ethnic minorities, the Baluch in particular, are grossly overrepresented in execution numbers in Iran. In 2022, at least 174 Baluch minorities including 3 women, were executed in 22 prisons across Iran, making up 30% of overall executions. This is while they represent just 2-6% of Iran’s population.

Baluch minorities also represented almost half of drug-related executions in 2022. 47.3% of the 256 people executed for drug-related charges were Baluch.

According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 256 people were executed for drug-related offences in 2022, a more than two-fold increase compared to 2021 (126) and ten times more than 2020 (25).