Execution of 3 Prisoners in Sabzevar and Shirvan on Charges Related to Drug Crimes and Murder

On Friday, February 25, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported the execution of three prisoners on charges related to drug crimes and murder in the prisons of Sabzevar and Shirvan during the early days of February. According to the organization's website, on the morning of February 1, the death sentence of 40-year-old Moslem Aliyari, charged with 'premeditated murder,' was carried out. According to a source familiar with the Iran Human Rights Organization, 'Moslem Aliyari had been detained for four years on murder charges and was sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind).' The organization also reported the execution of two prisoners named Hossein-Ali Shakourian and Nasser Modat on drug-related charges on February 2 in Sabzevar prison. According to this report, these executions have not yet been announced by domestic media or official sources in Iran. According to annual statistics from the Center for Statistics, Publication, and Works related to human rights activists in Iran, at least 791 individuals, including 25 women and 2 child offenders, were executed in 2023, marking an increase of over 33% compared to the same period the previous year. Among those executed, 7 were executed in public. Additionally, during this period, 163 others were sentenced to death. The execution of three prisoners in Shiraz comes on the eve of the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Iran. Five prisoners were executed in Isfahan and Rasht. The Islamic Republic executed at least 13 individuals in a single day at the central prisons of Karaj and Qazvin.