Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 21 June 2026: Abdolghafar Shahnavazi, a Baluch minority, and Mohammad Ebrahimi were executed for drug-related offences in Mashhad Central Prison.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 21 April 2026. His identity has been established as Abdolghafar Shahnavazi (left photo), a 38-year-old Baluch man from the village of Hossein Abad in Torbat Jam.
He was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to death by the Mashhad Revolutionary Court on drug-related charges.
Another man was hanged at the prison on 28 May. He has been identified as Mohammad Ebrahimi (right photo). He was arrested around four years ago and was also on death row for drug-related offences.
An informed source told IHRNGO: “The drug didn’t belong to Mohammad, the charges against him were fabricated.”
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.