Ghorban Razi and Mohammad Kasrani Executed in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 15 December. Sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, the first man’s identity has been established as Ghorban Razi (photo), a 29-year-old man from Tabriz.

The second man who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences, has been identified as 38-year-old Mohammad Kasrani.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ghorban Razi was on the run for 8 months before handing himself in four years ago. He was accused of committing a murder in a street fight.”

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.”