Mohammad Javad Ahmadian Executed in Ahvaz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Ahvaz Sheiban Prison on 28 October. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Mohammad Javad Ahmadian from Poldokhtar who was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mohammad Javad Ahmadian was arrested with two other individuals for carrying shisheh (methamphetamine) and heroin around six years ago. Mohammad Javad was the first defendant in the case and received the death penalty, his co-defendants received 7-10 year prison sentences.”

At the time of writing, his execution has 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.”