Baluch Hassan Barahouyi Executed in Gorgan

According to Hal Vash, a Baluch man was executed in Gorgan Central Prison on 7 June. His identity has been reported as 33-year-old Hassan Barahouyi from Zabol.

Hassan was a father of four and a bus driver who was arrested for drug-related charges around five years ago. He was sentenced to death for the charges by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has 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).

On 1 June, Iran Human Rights reported at least 307 executions in 2023. May was also reported as the most bloody month in ten years, with at least 142 executions.