Habibollah Ghanbarzehi and Amin Khajeh-Nezami Hanged for Drug Offences in Kerman

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were hanged in Kerman (Shahab) Central Prison on 12 October 2026. Their identities have been established as Habibollah Ghanbarzehi-Farjad (right photo), a 38-year-old Baluch father of two and Amin Khajeh-Nezami, a 33-year-old Baluch father of three from Reygan. They were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

Habibollah was the sole breadwinner for his mother and sister. He was arrested in November 2023 while driving in Kerman. According to his family, despite evidence indicating that the seized narcotics did not belong to him. Amin was arrested around three years ago.

On 11 October, IHRNGO issued a warning about Habibollah’s imminent execution, calling on the international community to take action to save his life.

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

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.

In December 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “A Village of Graves: Widespread and Systematic Drug Executions in Iran,” which provides an overview of drug laws and documents the systematic violation of due process and fair trial rights in drug cases. In the first nine months of 2026, at least 211 people were executed for drug-related charges.