Abbas Rashgi and Saber Moghadami Executed in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Shiraz Central Prison on 6 July. Their identities have been established as 39-year-old Abbas Rashgi and 36-year-old Saber Moghadami who are both from Maragheh.

Abbas and Saber were sentenced to death for drug-related charges in the same case. Iran Human Rights reported their transfer for execution yesterday. Informed sources previously told Iran Human Rights that Abbas is a father of one and Saber Moghadami has two children.

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

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. 206 people were executed for drug-related charges in the first six months of 2023, a 126% rise compared to the same period in 2022 when 91 were executed. 40 people were executed in the same period in 2021.

The number of drug executions dramatically dropped in 2018 following a 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Laws. Consequently, drug executions ranged between 24-30 per annum between 2018-2020. The Amendment was reversed in practice in 2021 when executions increased ten-fold to 126 in 2021 and doubled again in 2022 with 256 drug-related executions.