Three Men Hanged for Drug Offences in Karaj Penitentiary

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Karaj Penitentiary (Central Prison) on 23 September 2026. His identity has been established as Mojtaba Haghi (middle photo), a 38-year-old father to a six-year-old girl. He was a Varamin native who was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Two other men were hanged at the prison on 27 September 2026. Their identities have been established as Shahossein Abbasi (right photo), a 39-year-old father of three from Kouhdasht and 26-year-old Milad Zeinali(left photo) from Kouhdasht.

Shahossein was arrested around eleven years ago and Milad was arrested six years ago. They were both on death row for drug-related offences.

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.