Group Hanging of 4 Men in Tabriz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 29 August 2026. Two of the men were sentenced to to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court. Their identities have been established as Yavar Alizadeh (right photo), a 28-year-old welder, and Hossein Khalilian (left photo), a 40-year-old florist. Yavar was arrested four years ago and Hossein was arrested for the murder of his cousin seven years ago.

The other two men who were on death row for drug-related offences have been identified as Mojtaba Vahedi, a 28-year-old father of one from Zanjan and Davod Tarkhan, a 48-year-old father of four from Tabriz. Mojtaba owned a grocery shop prior to his arrest three years ago.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Davod lived in rented accommodation and had four children, including a nine-year-old disabled boy named Younes. Having no prior criminal record, it was his first attempt at transporting drugs. He had resorted to this solely due to extreme poverty and a lack of income to support his family and disabled child, but after four years in prison, he too was taken to the gallows at dawn on Saturday and executed.”

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 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.