Death Penalty News

Iranian authorities have executed two prisoners, Amrollah Seiri and Reza Talebi, in Karaj and Sabzevar Central Prisons. Both were sentenced to death for “premeditated murder,” with Seiri spending 14 years in prison before his execution. According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Seiri (Hadavandi), a Lor man from Farunabad in Pakdasht County, Tehran Province, was executed in Karaj Central Prison on Wednesday morning, October 28, 2026.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 25 October 2026: Javad Baranizadeh, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison on 21 October 2026. His identity has been established as Javad Baranizadeh. He was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 October 2026: Authorities at Ghezelhesar Prison have verbally notified drug death-row prisoners in Unit 2 that those from provincial towns and cities are to be transferred to their home jurisdictions, a move detainees fear is intended to facilitate their executions. This push to disperse the ward follows two successful strikes staged by Unit 2 prisoners in October 2025 and July 2026, which forced authorities to temporarily halt drug-related executions at the prison.

Iranian authorities executed 50-year-old Ali Asghar Sanei in Shahroud Central Prison following his conviction on “drug-related offenses.” According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution took place at dawn on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Sanei was from Semnan. Hengaw sources reported that he worked as a tiler in the construction industry before his arrest approximately three years ago for transporting nine kilograms of heroin.

Iranian authorities executed Nasser Parvaneh, Ahmad Parviz, and a third prisoner named Farid, whose surname remains unknown, at Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj and Shirvan Central Prison. All three had been sentenced to death for “murder” in separate cases. According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Ahmad Parviz, a former lawyer, was executed at Qezelhesar Prison on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.

Iranian authorities have executed Ahmad Bazvand, a 35-year-old Lor prisoner, in Khorramabad Central Prison despite evidence raising doubts about his responsibility for the killing for which he was sentenced to death. According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Bazvand was executed at dawn on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. A resident of Bazvand village in Pol-e Dokhtar County, he was married and the father of a six-year-old daughter.

Iranian authorities have executed five prisoners on charges of “murder” and “drug-related offenses” in prisons across Karaj, Sari, Tabriz, Gorgan, and Malayer amid an alarming rise in executions across the country. According to reports documented by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Rasoul Karimi, 42, was executed at Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. He was married, had one child, and had previously been arrested on “murder” charges.

Iranian authorities executed four prisoners, including three Turks, in Zanjan Central Prison and Meshgin Shahr Central Prison. Three were executed on charges related to “drug-related offenses,” while the fourth was executed on a charge of “premeditated murder.” According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, three prisoners were executed in Zanjan Central Prison on Sunday, September 27, 2026. Fateh Shafiei, 33, a Turk from Zanjan and father of one, and Hassan Mahdipour, 30, a Turk from Mianeh, were among those executed. Shafiei had been arrested three years earlier, while Mahdipour had been arrested two years earlier.

Iranian authorities have executed at least two prisoners, Ali Alizehi, a Baloch man, and Mehrdad Sheikhi, in prisons in Kerman and Isfahan. Both had previously been sentenced to death on charges related to “drug offenses.” Based on information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Alizehi, approximately 43 years old and a father of two from Zahedan, was executed at dawn on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at Kerman Central Prison.

Iranian authorities have executed at least five prisoners, including two Kurdish men and one Baloch, in prisons in Isfahan and Karaj. The five had been sentenced to death on “drug-related” or “murder” charges. According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Abdolghani Salarzehi, a 35-year-old Baloch prisoner, was executed at Isfahan Central Prison at dawn on Monday, September 28, 2026. Informed sources said Salarzehi, a married father of five, had been arrested seven years earlier on “drug-related” charges and subsequently sentenced to death.

Justin Michael Wolfe’s case once attracted national attention as an example of suburban youths dabbling in the worlds of drugs and death. A Virginia man once sentenced to death in a 2001 murder-for-hire case will be released from prison after a plea deal finalized Monday ended his decades-long legal battle, his attorneys said. Justin Michael Wolfe, whose case attracted national attention as an example of suburban youths dabbling in the worlds of drugs and death, pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and solicitation of robbery, according to court records. The latter disposition was made under an Alford plea, meaning a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but does admit prosecutors have enough evidence that could lead to a conviction.

Iranian authorities have executed Hadi Hasanlou on “drug-related” charges at Shiraz Central Prison and Nemat Maghami on a charge of “premeditated murder” at Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz. According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Hadi Hasanlou, a 36-year-old Turkish prisoner from Maragheh, was executed at dawn on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at Shiraz Central Prison (Adelabad Prison).

Hengaw – Friday, September 18, 2026 Rezvan Asgharzadeh, a 45-year-old woman and mother of six who had been sentenced to death on drug-related charges, has been executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.  Her husband, who was sentenced to death on similar charges, remains imprisoned at the same facility and is at risk of execution.

Iranian authorities have executed Kurdish prisoner Fereydoun Akbarzadeh at Ilam Central Prison. He had previously been sentenced to death on charges of “premeditated murder.” According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Akbarzadeh, from Sarableh County in Ilam Province, was executed at dawn on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at Ilam Central Prison. Hengaw sources said Akbarzadeh had previously been arrested on charges of premeditated murder and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Iranian judiciary.

Iranian authorities executed Abdolrahim Narouei Rouzaneh, a 47-year-old Baloch prisoner from Zabol, in Isfahan Central Prison (Dastgerd Prison). He had previously been sentenced to death on drug-related charges. Based on information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Narouei Rouzaneh, a married father of nine from Zabol, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, was executed at dawn on Monday, September 14, 2026, in Dastgerd Prison.

Iranian authorities secretly executed three prisoners, including a Baloch man, in Isfahan Central Prison (Dastgerd Prison). The three had been sentenced to death in separate cases on drug-related charges. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Mohammad Yousef Issazahi (Rigi), Shahrokh Pouresmaeili, and Hossein Ghasemzadeh were executed at dawn on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Issazahi (Rigi), a 40-year-old Baloch man from Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, was married and the father of five children. He was arrested in Isfahan in 2022 on drug-related charges and subsequently sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

Muscat: Oman has enacted a new Law on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances under Royal Decree No. 67/2026, introducing severe penalties for drug trafficking, smuggling, possession and personal use, including the death penalty and life imprisonment in certain cases. Under the new law, importing, exporting, producing, or manufacturing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances for the purpose of trafficking is punishable by imprisonment and a fine ranging from RO 35,000 to RO 60,000. The death penalty applies to drug smuggling carried out for the purpose of trafficking in specified aggravated circumstances, including repeat offences, abuse of official authority, licences or legal immunity, using a person lacking legal capacity or with diminished capacity, and participation in or cooperation with international gangs involved in drug smuggling.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 5 September 2026: At least 82 people were executed in August 2026, including 40 for murder, 34 for drug-related offences and eight for security-related charges. Amongst those executed were six women, marking the highest monthly total recorded for female executions in 2026. Three protesters arrested in connection with the January nationwide protests were also amongst those executed. In the first eight months of 2026, IHRNGO has recorded 528 executions, including 18 women, 20 foreign nationals and 91 ethnic minorities. The 2026 executions also include 31 protesters (29 from the January protests and two from “Woman, Life, Freedom”), 13 political prisoners affiliated with banned opposition groups and 14 espionage defendants.

Iranian authorities executed Ali Mirzaei and Aziz Roshanayi, who had been sentenced to death in separate murder cases, at Babol Central Prison and Shiraz Central Prison (Adelabad Prison), respectively. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Mirzaei, a singer from Babol, was executed at dawn on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at Babol Central Prison in Mazandaran Province.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 29 August 2026: Yavar Alizadeh, Hossein Khalilian, Mojtaba Vahedi and Davod Tarkhan were executed in a group hanging in Tabriz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were hanged in Tabriz Central Prison on 29 August 2026. Two of the men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for separate murders by the Criminal Court. Their identities have been established as Yavar Alizadeh, a 28-year-old welder, and Hossein Khalilian, a 40-year-old florist. Yavar was arrested four years ago, and Hossein was arrested for the murder of his cousin seven years ago.