Inmate Executed in Urmia Prison for Drug-Related Crimes

On Monday, March 14, 2022, an inmate who had been previously convicted for drug-related crimes was executed in Urmia prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, On Monday, March 14, 2022, an inmate identified as Ebrahim Nasirkhah, who is approximately 45 years old, was executed in Urmia Prison. One day before the execution, he was sent to solitary confinement.

According to an informed source, this inmate had been jailed for three years. He was taken to be executed twice, but each time the execution was halted for unknown reasons.

This execution has not been reported by official sources and media outlets inside Iran at the time of writing.

The most recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between January 1 of 2021 and December 20 of 2021, at least 299 citizens, including four juvenile offenders, were executed. In addition, 85 citizens were sentenced to death in this period.

As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce over 88% of executions. These unreported executions are known as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.