3 Men Including Afghan National at Imminent Risk of Execution

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were transferred to solitary confinement on 12 August in preparation for their executions in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj. The identities of two of the men have been established as Behrouz Vafayi from Tehran and Saeed Niazi from Doroud.

The identity of the third man who is an Afghan national, has not been established at the time of writing. All three men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Informed sources told Iran Human Rights that the number of those scheduled to be executed is likely to rise.

On 7 August, 26 men were executed in a group hanging in Ghezelhesar Prison.

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. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

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.”