Ahad Hashemi and Mouchehr Khazayi Executed in Hamedan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 9 August. Their identities have been established as Ahad Hashemi and Manouchehr Khazayi who were sentenced to death for drug-related in separate cases by the Revolutionary Court.

Another prisoner named Javad Amjadian who is also on death row for drug-related charges and transferred to the gallows with the two executed men, was returned to his cell for unknown reasons.

Iran Human Rights previously reported Ahad Hashemi’s transfer for execution.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Ahad Hashemi was arrested for 10 kilograms of heroin and sentenced to death.”

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. At least 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.