At Least 11 Including a Woman and 2 Afghans Executed in Karaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least 10 men and a woman were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison on 9 October. Five of the men who were on death row for drug-related offences have been identified as Ahmad Narouyi, a Baluch man from Zahedan, Mohammad Eshaghzehi, a Baluch man from Zahedan, Saeed Safayi and Sattar Khosravi, two Kurdish men from Kermanshah, and Kamran Saghayi.

Three of the men who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder have been identified as Arman Hedayati, Mehdi Zareie and Mohammad Sadeghnia. The woman whose identity has not been established at the time of writing was also on death row for murder. The two unidentified Afghan nationals were sentenced to death for rape charges.

Hamshahri newspaper reported the executions of two of the murder executions and the two Afghans executed for rape charges without naming them

At the time of writing, the other seven 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.