Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 12 July 2026: At least five people, including a woman, were executed in Shiraz Central Prison. Setayesh Mohammadpour, Morad Iranmanesh, Hossein Rahim Khanli, Jabar Khadem and Hosseinali Zamani were all on death row for drug-related offences. The executions of Jaber and Hossein Ali were carried out secretly, without prior notice.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men and a woman were hanged at Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 12 July 2026. Their identities have been established as Setayesh Mohammadpour, a 52-year-old mother of two from Jahrom, 50-year-old Morad Iranmanesh (right photo) from Shiraz and Hossein Rahim Khanli (left photo), a 32-year-old Arab man from Jahrom.
Setayesh was arrested for 9 kilograms of methamphetamines (shisheh). Hossein was arrested five years ago and Morad was arrested for 6 kilograms of heroin around six years ago. Hossein and Morad were transferred to the gallows from Ward 10 of the prison.
Two other men were hanged at the prison on 7 July. Their identities have been established as Jabar Khadem from Kazeroun and Hossein Ali Zamani, a 56-year-old father of three from Kashmer. Jabar was arrested two years ago and Hossein Ali was arrested around four years ago. Their executions were carried out without prior notice, depriving them of last family visits.
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.
Iran executes the highest recorded number of women globally. Setayesh is the tenth woman execution recorded in 2026, and the fourth to be hanged for drug offences. In 2025, at least 48 women were executed, the highest number of women executions recorded in Iran in more than two decades.
In January 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “Women and the Death Penalty in Iran; a Gendered Perspective,” which sheds light on the contemporary experiences of women facing the death penalty, focusing on the discriminatory laws and societal factors that perpetuate their suffering.