Executed for drug-related offences

This page keeps the memory of 3161 people who were executed on drug-related charges; the largest group among those executed whose charge is given in the sources. The earliest execution in this list is recorded on 14 Ordibehesht 1388 and the latest on 22 Mehr 1405. The charge that appears here is the one that the authorities or sources mentioned, and recording it is no verdict of anyone's guilt. In many of these cases, as the life stories below show, co-defendants, fellow prisoners or families have said that the executed person had no role at all.

Years, days and cities

Executions for drugs continued in every year of this list, but with sharp rises and falls. From 1389 to 1395, more than a hundred names were recorded every year, and the year 1395 with 271 names is the peak of that period. After that the number falls sharply: 17 names in 1397, 28 names in 1398 and 32 names in 1399. From 1400 it rises again and in 1404 reaches 684 names, the highest number in this entire list. From 1405 so far, 134 names have been recorded. The heaviest day is 19 Mordad 1389 with 60 executions, followed by 11 Dey 1392 with 50 executions, 13 Tir 1388 with 20 executions, and 27 Shahrivar 1390 and 24 Farvardin 1394 with 17 executions each.

Karaj with 407 names is the most frequent city, followed by Urmia with 321, Mashhad with 153, Isfahan with 153, Zahedan with 152, Kerman with 146 and Shiraz with 117 names. Among the provinces, Alborz with 375 and West Azerbaijan with 361 names are at the top. The median age of those executed is 35 years and the oldest of them was 73 years old; the lowest age recorded in the data is 7 years, which is most likely a recording error. 5 people were under 18 years of age at the time of recording, and there are 313 women in this list whose source stated that they were women.

Some lives

Alireza Madadpour, 38 years old, was a final-year accounting student and worked as a labourer to pay for his studies and his family; his father had lost the ability to work in an accident at work. His co-defendants said in court that they did not know him, but he was executed on 6 Shahrivar 1395 together with 11 other prisoners in Karaj Prison. Shahab Karimi, 28 years old, according to the source “spent four years of his childhood in prison together with his mother”; his father had been executed on the same charge when he was 3 years old. Shahab himself was executed on 24 Farvardin 1394 in Karaj.

Khadijeh (Shahla) Jahed, 41 years old, was a nurse and, according to a fellow prisoner, “was a cheerful and energetic woman and always helped new prisoners.” Rahim Mohammadpour, 36 years old, father of 2 children, made a living from farming and carrying passengers in his car, and was executed on 17 Aban 1395 in Mahabad; those close to him considered him “a very good and noble-hearted” person. Mohsen Jelokhani, 26 years old, a boutique owner and the breadwinner of five sisters and one brother, had taught prisoners to read and write. Mohsen Nasiri, 30 years old, a street vendor, “intended to ask for the hand of the girl he loved” before his arrest.

This list is not complete

The real number of people executed on drug charges is higher than these 3161 names, and many were executed without their names being known. We list only a name that has a source. The largest share of this page comes from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center with 1658 cases; followed by the Iran Human Rights Society with 1063, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network with 541, HRANA with 500 and Haalvsh with 312 cases. Every name has at least one source, and some only one. We have a description of the life of 385 people. If you knew someone from this list, send us your memory or correction.