Amin Zakeri and Hamid Esmaili Executed in Karaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least two men were executed in Karaj Penitentiary on 12 December. Their identities have been established as Amin Zakeri and Hamid Esmaili who were both sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

They were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions with three others the day prior. There is no news about the fate of the other three men.

At the time of writing, neither of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

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.