Sajad Moradi and Yaser Golzardian Executed in Khorramabad

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Khorramabad Central Prison on 17 October. Their identities have been established as 38-year-old Sajad Moradi from Doroud and Yasser Golzardian from Kouhdasht who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Sajad Moradi was arrested around four years ago and Yaser Golzardian was arrested around six years ago. They were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions on 16 October.”

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 305 people were executed for drug-related charges between 1 January-10 October 2023, a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2022, and the number of drug-related executions in 2023 were close to 20 times higher than 2020.

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. On 13 September 2023, IHRNGO reported a 94% rise in the number of drug-related executions in the year following the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in September 2022.

Read IHRNGO's report on drug-related executions for the occasion of World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October 2023: