Woman and 5 Men Executed in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 19th October. Their identities have been established as Behzad Ghaffari, around 40 years old and 35-year-old Javad Ebrahimi who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court in a joint case.

Furthermore, three men and a woman were executed at the prison on 20th October. The woman has only been identified as Ms Firouzi who was alleged to have murdered her husband. Two of the men were also sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. Their identities have been established as Hassan Yousefi and 45-year-old Siamak Mulaii (left photo) who were co-defendants in the case.

The fourth man executed has been identified as 38-year-old Mohammad Amin Nourafkan (right photo) who was on death row for drug-related offences.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Behzad Ghaffari and Javad Ebrahimi were both Tabriz natives arrested for drug charges three years ago.”

“Hassan Yousefi and Siamak Mulaii were also co-defendants arrested for murder four years ago. Mohammad Amin Nourafkan was a father arrested for drug offences two years ago.”

At the time of writing, none of their executions have 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.”