Baluch Naser Alizehi and Naser Ozbakzehi Executed in Zahedan

According to Haal Vsh, two Baluch men were executed in Zahedan Central Prison on 30 November. Their identities have been reported as 27-year-old Naser Alizehi (pictured right) and 22-year-old Naser Ozbakzehi (Rakhshani) who were both from Zahedan and had been sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Naser Alizehi who maintained his innocence in court, was arrested in Zahedan on 19 November 2021. Naser Ozbakzehi was arrested around two years ago.

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 2-5% of Iran’s population. Furthermore, at least 274 Baluch people have been executed for drug-related charges since 2021, 40% of all drug executions in that time period.

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.