Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 1 November 2026: Ehsan Sobhani, Jafar Rostamzadeh-Mashhadi, Hashem Memari, Gholamhossein Yari and Iman Ashraf were executed in Shiraz Central Prison. Twelve other men on death row for murder are at grave risk of execution after their cases were sent to the Sentence Enforcement Unit.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 27 October 2026. Three of the men were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court on drug-related charges. Their identities have been established as Ehsan Sobhani, a 29-year-old father of one from Isfahan, Jafar Rostamzadeh-Mashhadi (left photo), a 44-year-old father of two from Mashhad and Hashem Memari, a 49-year-old father of three from Mashhad. Jafar and
Informed sources told IHRNGO: “Ehsan was arrested two years ago for carrying 9 kilograms of heroin. Jafar and Rostam were co-defendants and arrested three years ago and accused of being in possession of 17 kilograms of heroin and firearms. They were detained in Ward 4 of the prison prior to their executions.”
The fourth man was sentenced to death for drug-related charges and qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. He has been identified as Gholamhossein Yari (middle photo), a 47-year-old father of one from Mashhad who worked for the Water and Wastewater Authority two years ago.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “He was arrested for carrying 8 kilograms of narcotics and the murder of a Law Enforcement Command officer (holding the rank of Second Lieutenant), subsequently being sentenced to execution and qisas. In court, Gholamhossein consistently maintained that one of his companions committed the officer's murder and that his friend had fled the scene after being wounded in the leg. He claimed to have no knowledge of his friend's whereabouts. It appears that he was executed for the murder charges."
The fifth man who has been identified as Iman Ashraf (right photo) was sentenced to qisas for murder by the Criminal Court. He was around 21 and arrested over two years ago.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
According to information obtained by IHRNGO, the death sentences of twelve men held in Wards Salamat and 10 of Shiraz Central Prison, who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, have been upheld by the Supreme Court. Their cases have been sent to the prison’s Sentence Enforcement Unit, raising grave concerns over their imminent execution.
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. In the first nine months of 2026, at least 211 people were executed for drug-related charges.