Iran | Executions in Taybad, Sabzevar

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 9 January 2026: Jamilollah Shahi and Mohammad Ashraf, two Afghan nationals on death row for the same drug case, were executed in Taybad Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Taybad Prison on 8 January 2026. Their identities have been established as 37-year-old Jamilollah Shahi and 33-year-old Mohammad Ashraf from the city of Charikar in Afghanistan. They were arrested around two years ago and sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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. At least 697 people were executed for drug-related offences in the first eleven months of 2025.

According to IHRNGO’s December 2025 report “A Village of Graves: Widespread and Systematic Drug Executions in Iran,” at least 111 Afghan nationals have been executed for drug-related offences since 2021.

Execution in Sabzevar

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 9 January 2026: Abbas Mehdinejad, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Sabzevar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Sabzevar Prison on 7 January 2026. His identity has been established as Abbas Mehdinejad, a Neishabur native.

He was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to death on 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.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, January 9, 2026

"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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