Abdolghafour Shahuzehi and Unidentified Man Executed in Birjand

According to Hengaw, two Baluch men were executed in Birjand Central Prison on 13 October. The identity of one of them has been reported as 40-year-old Abdolghafour Shahuzehi (photo). The second man was not named. They were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Criminal Court.

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.”