Skip to main content

Iran | Executions in Kerman, Gonbad Kavous, Tabriz, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Ghezel Hesar, Bandar Abbas, Salmas

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2023: Two unidentified men including a Baluch minority, were executed along with Zarkhatoun Mazarzehi in Kerman Central Prison.

According to Haal Vsh, two men including a Baluch minority were executed in Kerman Central Prison on 15 November. The unidentified men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Zarkhatoun Mazarzehi, a Baluch woman also on death row for drug charges, was previously reported to have been executed at the prison that day.

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Ethnic minorities, the Baluch in particular, are grossly overrepresented in execution numbers in Iran. In 2022, at least 174 Baluch minorities including 3 women, were executed in 22 prisons across Iran, making up 30% of overall executions. This is while they represent just 2-6% of Iran’s population. Furthermore, at least 274 Baluch people have been executed for drug-related charges since 2021, 40% of all drug executions in that time period. Khatoun is the fifth Baluch woman executed in 2023.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. At least 305 people were executed for drug-related charges between 1 January-10 October 2023, a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2022, and the number of drug-related executions in 2023 were close to 20 times higher than 2020.

The number of drug executions dramatically dropped in 2018 following a 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Laws. Consequently, drug executions ranged between 24-30 per annum between 2018-2020. The Amendment was reversed in practice in 2021 when executions increased ten-fold to 126 in 2021 and doubled again in 2022 with 256 drug-related executions. On 13 September 2023, IHRNGO reported a 94% rise in the number of drug-related executions in the year following the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in September 2022.

Execution in Gonbad Kavous


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2023: Mehdi Bakhshandeh, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Gonbad Kavous Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Turkmen man was executed in Gonbad Kavous Prison, Golestan province, on 15 November. His identity has been established as Mehdi Bakhshandeh from Karand  who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

Mehdi was accused of stabbing a Karand border commander on 25 December 2020. An informed source told IHRNGO: “The border commander started harassing men and women at a café and beat up one of them. Mehdi Bakhshandeh had committed the murder in retaliation a few days later.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, as the plaintiffs, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

Execution in Tabriz


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2023: Ali Shirzadeh, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed Tabriz Central Prison on 15 November. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Ali Shirzadeh from Jolfa  who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ali Shirzadeh was married with a child. He was arrested around three years ago.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Hamedan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2023: A drug death row prisoner named Seyed Reza Hosseini has been executed in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 13 November. His identity has been established as 45-year-old Seyed Reza Hosseini from Hamedan.

He was arrested for around five years ago sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Man executed in Kermanshah


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2023: Shahbaz Latifi Sarini, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison on 13 November. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Shahbaz Latifi Sarini who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Shahbaz Latifi was accused of killing his wife and a police officer with an AK47 two years ago. He was a father of a young child.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Group executions in Ghezel Hesar


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November, 16, 2023: Newly obtained information reveals that the executions of six other men were carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison yesterday along with the previously reported three.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, six men were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, on 15 November. Three of the men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges and three to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. One of the men’s identities has been established as Mehdi Mosavar who was on death row for murder. He was transferred for execution from Unit 3 of the prison.

IHRNGO previously reported the execution of three other men including Bagher Mohammadi Geravand and Nazir Mohammad, an Afghan national, who were all on death row for drug-related charges at the prison that day.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “13 people were transferred to solitary confinement on Tuesday (14 November). Four of the murder death row prisoners were returned to their cells after obtaining extensions in their cases and the nine others were executed.”

On 1st November, IHRNGO reported a group execution of nine men at Ghezel Hesar Prison. A week later, another group execution of eight men took place at the prison. This is the third group execution at the prison in November.

In the first 10 months of 2023, IHRNGO recorded more than 600 executions, an unprecedented number in the last eight years. The majority of the executions were for drug-related charges which are also at their highest since 2015. On World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October 2023), IHRNGO called on UN Member States to withdraw funding of UNODC projects on drug-trafficking in Iran, and to make all collaborations and funding contingent upon an immediate halt to all drug-related executions.

Woman executed in Kerman


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) November 15, 2023: A Baluch woman named Zarkhatoun Mazarzehi was executed for drug-related charges in Kerman Central Prison.

According to Haal Vsh, a Baluch woman was executed in Kerman Central Prison on 15 November. Her identity has been reported as Zarkhatoun Mazarzehi, a 46-year-old widow and mother of a daughter. She was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by Branch One of the Kerman Revolutionary Court. She was notified of the sentence on 15 March 2022 in prison.

Relatives previously told Iran Human Rights: “She didn’t have access to a defence lawyer at the time of arrest. Zarkhatoon Mazarzehi has made no confessions. She didn’t know anything about the drugs they found. She had agreed to carry raw materials for cosmetics which she believed to have issues at customs, and has said at every opportunity that she wasn’t carrying drugs. Ms Mazarzehi was the breadwinner, her husband died of tuberculosis."

At the time of writing, her execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution  in Salmas


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 15, 2023: Arman Babazadeh Ayan, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Salmas Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Salmas Prison on 14 November. His identity has been established Arman Babazadeh Ayan who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Bandar Abbas


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 14, 2023: State media have reported the execution of an unidentified man who had spent 17 years on death row for murder in Bandar Abbas Central Prison.

According to Hamshahri Online, a man was executed in Bandar Abbas Central Prison. The unidentified man was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court. The date of his execution has not been specified.

He was accused of killing his friend 17 years ago but he had always denied the allegations. His death sentence had been overturned by the Supreme Court several times, per the report.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 14-16, 2023


_____________________________________________________________________











Most viewed (Last 7 days)

Indiana executes Benjamin Ritchie

Death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie was executed by lethal injection shortly after midnight Tuesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Department of Correction officials. The death sentence was carried out nearly 25 years after Ritchie shot and killed Beech Grove law enforcement officer William Toney. The condemned man had been on death row since his conviction in 2002. Details about the 45-year-old’s execution were sparse. No independent media representatives were permitted to witness the process.

Iran | Singer Amirhossein Tataloo at Grave Risk of Execution for Blasphemy

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 17, 2025: Asghar Jahangir, Iran’s Judiciary spokesman announced today that the blasphemy death conviction of Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, has been upheld by the Supreme Court and sent for enforcement. The singer’s defence lawyer, Majid Naghshi, previously reported filing a judicial review request. Reiterating its opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances, Iran Human Rights considers the use of this inhumane punishment for charges such as blasphemy to be a flagrant violation of international human rights law and calls on civil society and the international community not remain silent about Amirhossein Maghsoudlou’s death penalty.

Indiana man set for execution in state's second since 2009

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man convicted in the 2000 killing of a police officer is set to receive a lethal injection early Tuesday in the state’s second execution in 15 years. Benjamin Ritchie, 45, has been on death row for more than 20 years after being convicted in the fatal shooting of Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a foot chase. Unless there’s last-minute court action, Ritchie is scheduled to be executed “before the hour of sunrise” at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to state officials.

South Carolina | Death row inmate seeks to volunteer to die after friends are executed

A South Carolina death row inmate has said he wants to become his own attorney, a decision that would likely lead to his own execution after his best friend and four fellow inmates were put to death in less than a year. A 45-day delay in James Robertson's request was ordered by a federal judge, allowing time for a different lawyer to talk to him and make sure he really wants to fire his own attorneys. The consequences of his decision are likely to be lethal. The 51-year-old Robertson has been on death row since 1999 after killing both his parents in their Rock Hill home. He beat his father with the claw end of a hammer and a baseball bat and stabbed his mother. He then tried to make it look like a robbery in hopes he would get his part of their $2.2 million estate, prosecutors said.

Tennessee executes Oscar Franklin Smith

The state of Tennessee has executed Oscar Franklin Smith, sentenced to death for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife Judith Robirds Smith and her two teenage sons, Chad Burnett and Jason Burnett, in Nashville. Smith, 75, was killed by a fatal dose of the drug pentobarbital injected into his veins at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. He was pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m. May 22. Smith's execution marks a return to capital punishment in Tennessee after the governor instituted a moratorium on the state's most severe penalty. It had been five years since a Tennessee prisoner died by execution and six years since the state killed someone by lethal injection.

Oscar Franklin Smith, Tennessee death row inmate, declines to select execution method

Oscar Franklin Smith, a Tennessee death row inmate scheduled for execution on May 22, will die by lethal injection if the process moves forward. Smith, who was asked to choose between lethal injection and the electric chair, declined to pick, his attorney Kelley Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender, said. When an inmate does not choose, the method defaults to lethal injection. It's not the first time Smith has been given this grim decision and declined. That decision to not choose ultimately saved his life for three more years.

Florida executes Glen Rogers

Florida executes suspected serial killer once eyed for possible link to the OJ Simpson case  A suspected serial killer once scrutinized for a possible link to the O.J. Simpson case that riveted the nation in the 1990s was executed Thursday in Florida for the murder of a woman found dead in a Tampa motel room.  Glen Rogers, 62, received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke and was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., authorities said. He was convicted in Florida of the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs, a 34-year-old mother of 2 he had met at a bar.

Iran | Convicted killer hanged in Tabriz. Execution carried out by his uncle, who was plaintiff in the case

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 10, 2025: Hassan Saei, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison. His execution was carried out by his uncle, who was the plaintiff in the case. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 6 May 2025. His identity has been established as Hassan Saei who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court. An informed source told IHRNGO: “Hassan Saei was arrested for the murder of his cousin and his maternal uncle carried out the execution.”

Texas Set to Execute Fourth Inmate of the Year

Matthew Johnson was convicted of the 2012 murder of Nancy Harris in Dallas County. Matthew Johnson’s guilt was never in question. On the stand during his 2013 trial, he admitted to the crime that landed him on death row. The attack—an early morning robbery and murder in a populous Dallas suburb—was also caught on camera. Johnson is scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on May 20, exactly 13 years to the day after he robbed a Fina Whip-In convenience store in Garland and set the store clerk on fire. Johnson was convicted of the murder of Nancy Harris, the 76-year-old clerk. 

Texas executes Matthew Lee Johnson

Texas man is executed 13 years to the day of a store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire  A Texas man was executed Tuesday evening, 13 years to the day of a convenience store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire in a Dallas suburb.  Matthew Lee Johnson, 49, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 20, 2012, attack on 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother he splashed with lighter fluid and set ablaze in the suburb of Garland. Badly burned, she died days afterward.