Mehdi Gilani and Mohammad Hossein Naderi Executed in Rasht

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 16 November. Their identitites have been established as Mehdi Gilani from Rasht and 29-year-old Mohammad Hossein Naderi from Lahijan.

Mehdi was arrested three years ago and Mohammad Hossein was arrested two years ago. They were sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court in separate cases.

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.”