Shirali Tarkeshband Executed in Rasht

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man executed in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 20 November. His identity has been established as 55-year-old Shirali Tarkeshband from a village in Kermanshah.

He was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

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.”