Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 31 August 2026: Jalal Nematzadeh and Behrouz Souri, two men on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Rasht Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Rasht (Lakan) Central Prison on 11 August 2026. Their identities have been established as Jalal Nematzadeh, a 51-year-old father of three from Anzali and Behrouz Souri from the Padervand tribe in Roumshegan. Behrouz was around 40 years old.
Jalal was arrested five years ago and Jalal was arrested around four years ago. They were both sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. According to informed IHRNGO sources, Jalal had been arrested for drug charges three times prior to the most recent case, serving a total of 13 years in prisons across Rasht, Anzali and Sari.
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.