Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 21, 2023: Four men sentenced to death for efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) and drug-related charges, were executed in Qezel Hesar Prison.
According to the Judiciary’s Mizan news agency, three men were executed in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on 20 May. Their identities have been reported as Shahab Mansour Nasab, Samad Geravand and Saeed Geravand. They were sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) for drug-related offences.
According to the court judgement: “the defendants were sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz(corruption on earth) through producing 39 kilograms and 396 grams of heroin.”
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least one more prisoner was executed along with the officially reported executions. His identity has been established as Shahram Sharghi.
An informed source told Iran Human Rights: “Shahab Mansour Nasab, Samad Geravand and Saeed Geravand were co-defendants in the same case which was for being in possession of drugs. They’d been behind bars for around six years. Shahram Sharghi was from Kouhdasht in Lorestan and had been arrested and sentenced to death six years ago.”
Shahram Sharghi’s execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 582 people were executed in Iran. Of those, 256 people were executed for drug-related offences, a more than two-fold increase compared to 2021 (126) and ten times more than 2020 (25). The execution of these three men on security-related charges for drug offences is a new trend.