2 Afghans and 2 Baluch Executed in Yazd

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Yazd Central Prison on 19 August. Two of the men who were Afghan nationals and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, have been identified as Ansar Eftekhareddin and Mahmoud Salim.  

The other two men who were Baluch minorities and on death row for drug-related charges have been identified as 33-year-old Abdolraouf Shehbakhsh (Dahmardeh) and 34-year-old Abdolrahman Damani (Gorgij).

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.