8 Men Hanged in Tabriz Over Two Days; One Executed After Suicide Attempt

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 13 July 2026. Their identities have been established as Javad Abolfathi, a 36-year-old father of one from Tabriz and Ezat Khosrownejad who was around 30 and from Hashtroud. Javad was arrested nine years ago for a homicide that took place in Amir al-Momenin Street in Tabriz and Ezat was arrested two years ago. They were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

IHRNGO previously reported the executions of Abdolreza Heidari and Mehdi Latifi, bringing the number of people executed at the prison to four that day.

Four other men were hanged at the prison on 14 July. They have been identified as 40-year-old Sohrab Nourmohammadi, Salman Kakehkhani (right photo) a 54-year-old Kurdish man from Saqqez who resided in Baneh, Sajad Alizadeh (middle photo) from the village of Baneh Khaghi in Varzeghan and 31-year-old Fardin Barnal (left photo) from Tabriz. They were all sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Sohrab Nourmohammadi had been arrested around three years ago. He had attempted suicide prior to his hanging but prison authorities carried out his execution despite his condition. Salman was arrested for carrying 11 kilograms of narcotics 12 years ago. He worked buying and selling satellite equipment and mobile phones prior to his arrest. In 2023, while serving his sentence, Salman lost his wife and daughter in a tragic electrocution accident.”

“Sajad was arrested six years ago and Fardin was arrested for carrying 6 kilograms of heroin four years ago,” the source added.

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.6 Tab

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 795 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only 0.18% were announced by official sources. 13% of all drug-related executions in 2025 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

In December 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “A Village of Graves: Widespread and Systematic Drug Executions in Iran,” which provides an overview of drug laws and documents the systematic violation of due process and fair trial rights in drug cases.