Abdolghafour Razmdideh Rigi Secretly Executed in Birjand

According to Haal Vsh, a Baluch man was executed in Birjand Central Prison on 8 December. His identity has been reported as 45-year-old Abdolghafour Razmdideh Rigi who was arrested for drug-related offences in Sarbisheh three years ago and sentenced to death for by the Birjand Revolutionary Court.

He was transferred to solitary confinement a day prior and executed without his family being notified and the right to say goodbye to them.

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.”