Saber Fathollahi and Afghan National Zaki Zakeri Hanged in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 9 March. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Saber Fathollahi (photo) from Rasht and 27-year-old Zaki Zakeri from Jalal Abad in Afghanistan. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Saber Fathollahi was arrested three years ago. Zaki Zakeri was arrested two years ago and though his family live in Mashhad, they weren’t able to have a last visit with him.”

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 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 503 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only under 3% were announced by official sources. 17% of all drug-related executions in 2024 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

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.”