Iran | Executions in Shiraz, Sari

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); March 14, 2025: Saber Fathollahi and Zaki Zakeri, an Afghan national, were executed for drug-related offences in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 9 March. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Saber Fathollahi from Rasht and 27-year-old Zaki Zakeri from Jalal Abad in Afghanistan. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Saber Fathollahi was arrested three years ago. Zaki Zakeri was arrested two years ago and though his family live in Mashhad, they weren’t able to have a last visit with him.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 503 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only under 3% were announced by official sources. 17% of all drug-related executions in 2024 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”

Execution in Sari

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); March 14, 2025: Majid Vahidi, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Sari Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Sari Central Prison on 12 March. His identity has been established as Majid Vahidi, a 26-year-old motorcycle and bicycle mechanic who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Majid Vahidi was arrested in July 2021 for allegedly killing his friend during an argument that turned physical.”

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, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

According to IHRNGO’s 2024 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 419 people including a juvenile offender and 19 women, were executed for murder charges, the highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 12% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2024, Iran Human Rights also recorded 649 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, March 14, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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