Three Baluch Men Executed in Mashhad

According to Hal Vash, a Baluch man was secretly executed in Mashhad Central Prison on 1 May. His identity has been reported as 38-year-old Hossein Vahedi Rigi who was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Courts.

His family were not notified of his execution. His secret execution deprived him of the right to a last visit. Aminollah Karimi Ghaljayi, another Baluch man, was also executed at the prison that day.

On 2 May, another Baluch man was executed at the prison. His identity has been reported as 31-year-old Mohammad Malekdadzehi who was also sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court. He was a father of three from the village of Doust Mohammad Ghergheri.

On 4 May, another Baluch man was executed at the prison. His identity has been reported as Nourahmad Zarouzehi (Nehtani) who was also sentenced to death for drug-related charges.

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

Since 29 April, at least 17 Baluch men and women have been executed in Zahedan, Birjand, Mashhad, Bandarabbas, Minab and Iranshahr prisons.

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.

Baluch minorities also represented almost half of drug-related executions in 2022. 47.3% of the 256 people executed for drug-related charges were Baluch.

According to reports gathered by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO), at least 256 people were executed for drug-related offences in 2022, a more than two-fold increase compared to 2021 (126) and ten times more than 2020 (25).