3 People Including Woman Executed in Kerman

According to HRANA news agency, two men and a woman were executed in Kerman Central Prison on 8 May. Their identities have been reported as 33-year-old Fariba Mohammadzehi, Abdollah Ozbekzehi and Khalilollah Barahouyi. They were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. They were all Baluch minorities.

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

Iran is the biggest executioner of women. In 2023, at least 22 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran. Hajar is the second woman to be executed in January 2024. Fariba Mohammadzehi is the 7th woman executed in 2024 and the 5th woman executed for drug-related charges.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”