Mahrokh (Roghieh) Mirzayi, a woman convicted of murder, Abdolghani Salarzehi (Baluch) and Mohammadreza Sheikhi, two men on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men and a woman were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 28 September 2026. The woman who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder was identified as 30-year-old Mahrokh (Roghieh) Mirzayi. She was a Khomeini Shahr native who resided in Isfahan.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mahrokh was arrested approximately three years ago on charges of murdering her husband, who was also her maternal cousin. During their four years of unhappy marriage, Mahrokh developed a severe mental health disorder. Ultimately, she stabbed her husband during a fight and was subsequently convicted of his murder.”
The two executed men have been identified as Abdolghani Salarzehi (left photo), a 33-year-old Baluch father of four from Zahedan and 28-year-old Mohammadreza Sheikhi (right photo) from Gheshlagh Omarabad, Varamin. Abdolghani was arrested eight years ago and Mohammadreza was arrested around four years ago. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
“Abdolghani was held in Ward 10 of the prison before being transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. Mohammadreza was arrested alongside two other men and a woman on charges of transporting 480 kilograms of morphine, and was sentenced to death. The two male co-defendants in his case were previously executed. Mohammadreza was executed at dawn on Monday, and the sentence of the final defendant in the case, a woman, is scheduled to be carried out soon (likely on 12 October),” the informed source added.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Mahrokh Mirzayi is the 22nd woman whose execution has been documented in 2026. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades. Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.
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.