On May 18, 2024, three prisoners convicted on drug charges were executed at Meshginshahr Prison in Ardabil Province, as reported by the Iran Human Rights Organization.
The individuals executed were Fardin Musazadeh, a 40-year-old father of two, along with Mehdi Khadem, 27, and Hatef Sha’abani, 30.
Musazadeh was arrested and sentenced to death five years ago, while Khadem and Sha’abani were apprehended and similarly sentenced three years ago, all in separate cases involving drug offenses.
No official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have provided coverage of these executions at the time of writing. In 2023, 66% of HRANA’s reports on executions lacked official announcements by judicial authorities and went unreported by media inside Iran, highlighting a troubling lack of transparency in due process.
The reports from the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists for the year 2023 reveal a concerning prevalence of executions for drug offenses in Iran, constituting 56.4% of the total executions. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.