Reza Ghorbani Executed for Drug Charges in Karaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least one man was executed in Ghezelhesar Prison on 28 January. His identity has been established as Reza Ghorbani sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Reza was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution with another drug death row prisoner named Hossein Havasizadeh. There is currently no information available about his fate.

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

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.