4 Men Including Afghan and Iraqi Nationals Executed in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 26 August. Three of the men who were death row for drug-related charges have been identified as Shapour Hosseini from Tabriz, a 32-year-old Afghan national Mohebollah (surname uknown) and 27-year-old Moshref, whose surname also has not been established at the time of writing.

The fourth prisoner was an Iraqi national named Irfan Abdolazizi from Karkouk who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source previously told IHRNGO: “Shapour Hosseini was arrested for drug-related charges two years ago. Mohebollah and Moshref are from Afghanistan and were arrested for carrying weapons and drugs in the same case. Irfan Abdolaziz was arrested for the murder of a security guard in a cement factory three 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.