Mostafa Jamil Samadi and Unidentified Afghan National Executed in Shiraz

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men including an Afghan national, were executed in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 4 March. Their identities have been established as 40-year-old Mostafa Jamil Samadi who was on death row for drug-related charges. The second man who has only been identified as Iman (surname unknown), was an Afghan national who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.

They were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions along with Shahrokh Sohrabi on 2 March. Shahrokh managed to obtain a last minute extension in his case.

At the time of writing, their executions have 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, as the plaintiffs, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

It is important to note that Afghan nationals constitute the largest group of non-Iranian executions and death row cases in Iranian prisons. The number of their executions have been steadily rising since the Taliban takeover in 2021. At least five Afghan nationals were executed in 2021 which more than tripled in 2022, with 16 Afghan nationals including a juvenile offender and a woman executed. In 2023, at least 25 Afghans were executed, a 56% rise compared to the previous year. Iman is the sixth Afghan national to be executed in 2024.