4 Men Executed for Murder and Drug Charges in Rasht

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men were executed in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 11 September. Two of them were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder have been identified as Mostafa Amani and 32-year-old Nasrollah Pirasteh (middle photo). The third man was Arman Atayi (left photo) who was on death row for drug-related offences.

Furthermore, another man was executed at the prison on 23 September. His identity has been established as Ramin Poursafar (right photo) who was also sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mostafa Amanai was arrested for murder three years ago. Nasrollah Pirasteh was transferred to Rasht for execution from Gorgan prison because the alleged murder took place in Rasht. Ramin Poursafar was arrested for drug charges 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.

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.”