The Islamic Republic Executed at Least Seven Prisoners on Drug Charges

Human rights sources reported that at least seven prisoners accused of drug-related crimes were executed on Wednesday, August 15, in various prisons across Iran by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. According to reports on Wednesday, three prisoners were executed in Qazalhessar Prison in Alborz Province. Simultaneously, two prisoners were executed in Sabzevar and two others in Arak. Based on reports from HRANA, the media organ of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, judicial authorities executed three prisoners in Qazalhessar who had been transferred to solitary confinement in recent days for execution early Wednesday morning. An informed source related to Qazalhessar Prison identified one of the executed as Behzad Vafaee, stating that this citizen had been in this prison since 2018 in connection with drug offenses. The identity of another executed prisoner was reported as Ali Niazi. Additionally, reports indicate that the third person, whose name is still unclear, was an Afghan national. Meanwhile, two other prisoners named Mousa al-Reza Ebrahimi and Reza Zardkouhi were executed in Sabzevar for drug-related crimes. According to HRANA, Mousa al-Reza Ebrahimi was arrested about three years ago and transferred to Sabzevar Prison. The Iran Human Rights Organization also announced on Wednesday that the judicial authorities executed two prisoners named Mehdi Hosseini and Amir Tasbihi, who had been sentenced in separate cases related to drug offenses, in the central prison of Arak. According to this report, the two executed prisoners were from Saveh, with Mehdi Hosseini being arrested six years ago and Amir Tasbihi two years ago. This human rights organization also reminded that the execution of prisoners in connection with drug offenses by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran has seen a significant increase over the past four years, with 2023 witnessing an 84% increase compared to 2022, where 256 individuals were executed on drug-related charges, totaling 471 executions recorded this year. Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently described the execution trend in Iran as 'very concerning,' stating that the number of reported executions this year reaches at least 345, of which 15 are women.