Mahrokh Khani and Kazem Babayi Executed in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman and man were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 10 November. Their identities have been established 35-year-old Mahrokh Khani and 45-year-old Kazem Babayi who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Per informed sources, Mahrokh worked in a tailoring workshop prior to being arrested four years ago. Kazem was on death row for over two years.

Mahrokh is the 23rd woman execution recorded in 2024 and the 12th executed for drug offences.

At the time of writing, their executions 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.”