Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 15, 2024: Behrouz Vafayi, Saaeed Niazi, Naser Shafiei and an unidentified Afghan men were executed for murder and drug-related charges in Ghezelhesar Prison and Karaj Penitentiary.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison on 14 August. Two of the men’s identities have been established as Behrouz Vafayi from Tehran and Saeed Niazi from Doroud. The third man who was an Afghan national, has not been identified at the time of writing. They were all sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
IHRNGO previously reported their transfer for the gallows.
On the same day, a Kurdish man was executed in Karaj Penitentiary. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Naser Shafiei who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Per informed sources, he was from Takab and was arrested for the murder of his wife four years ago.
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. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.