3 Men Executed in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were executed in Shiraz Central Prison on 1st June. Their identities have been established as Mohammad Saeed Zohrabi, Hassan Nematollahi and 30-year-old Mahmoud Ghaedi (photo). Mohammad Saeed and Hassan were on death row for drug-related offences and Mahmoud was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Mohammad Saeed Zohrabi and Hassan Nematollahi were co-defendants who were arrested for carrying 80 kilograms of narcotics two years ago. Mahmoud Ghaedi was arrested for murder three years ago.”

Iran Human Rights previously reported their transfer to the pre-execution cells along with three other men including child offender Aref Rasouli and Morteza Shirmohammadi. Their executions were postponed for unknown reasons.

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 since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”