Massoud Shirzad and Ghasem Nouri Roudini Hanged for Drug Offences in Isfahan

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 4 May 2026. Their identities have been established as 30-year-old Massoud Shirzad from Kashan and Ghasem Nouri Roudini (photo), a 32-year-old Baluch man from the village of Roudini in Zahedan. Massoud was arrested around three years ago and Ghasem was arrested seven years ago. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: "Ghasem successfully memorised the entire Quran during his imprisonment. Given standard judicial procedures and prior interventions, his death sentence was expected to be overturned. Although his sentence had previously been quashed by the Supreme Court, his execution was still carried out at dawn on Monday."

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

Another death row prisoner named Mehrdad Goudarzi was also transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells along with Massoud and Ghasem. He was returned to the general ward after obtaining a last minute one-month extension from the plaintiffs in his murder case.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 795 people were executed for drug-related charges, of which only 0.18% were announced by official sources. 13% of all drug-related executions in 2025 were Baluch minorities while they represent 2-6% of Iran’s population.