Four Prisoners Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison on Drug-Related Charges

At dawn today, four prisoners previously sentenced to death on drug-related charges were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

HRANA has identified the executed individuals as Abbas Lak, Hojjat Havasi, Majid Khalifeh, and Afshin Ezzati.

According to information received by HRANA, they had been arrested on drug-related charges and subsequently sentenced to death by Revolutionary Courts.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year — a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.

Two Prisoners Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj

HRANA News Agency – Two prisoners who had previously been sentenced to death in separate murder cases were executed at dawn today in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj.

HRANA has identified the individuals as Farman Kooshki, from Kuhdasht, and Yashar Jafari, from Tehran.

According to information obtained by HRANA, the two had been arrested in separate cases on murder charges and later sentenced to death by criminal courts.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year — a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.

Two Prisoners Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison

HRANA News Agency – At dawn on Wednesday, May 21, two prisoners previously sentenced to death on charges related to drug trafficking and murder were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

HRANA has identified the executed individuals as Halim Brahouei (Brahui), 67, originally from Zahedan and residing in Karaj, and Jahanshah Afshari.

According to information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Brahouei had been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court for transporting 145 kilograms of narcotics into Tehran. Mr. Afshari had received a death sentence in connection with a murder charge.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially confirmed by prison authorities or relevant state institutions.

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year — a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.

Mashallah Karami’s Sentence Reduced to 3 Years and 7 Months After Sentence Consolidation

HRANA News Agency – Mashallah Karami, father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a protester executed in connection with the 2022 nationwide protests, has had his combined prison sentence reduced to three years and seven months following the approval of a request for sentence consolidation. He had previously been sentenced to a total of five years and three months across two separate cases.

His lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh, announced that with the acceptance of this request, Karami’s prison term was officially reduced to three years and seven months. Given that he has already served more than half of this time, he is now eligible for conditional release. A request for his conditional release has been submitted to the judicial authorities.

Mr. Karami is currently held in Karaj Central Penitentiary. In the previous rulings, he had received a total of five years and three months in prison across two separate cases.

On January 22, 2025, the Alborz Province Court of Appeals sentenced him to one year in prison and confiscation of his house and vehicle on charges of money laundering and acquiring illicit property. This came after an earlier ruling in August 2024 by Branch 102 of the Nazarabad Criminal Court, which had sentenced him to eight years and ten months in prison, a fine of 1.9 billion tomans, and confiscation of his assets on the same charges.

In another part of his case, in September 2024, the Alborz Appeals Court sentenced Karami to three years and seven months for “assembly and collusion” and to eight months for “propaganda against the regime.” Previously, on May 21, 2024, the Karaj Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to five years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and one year for “propaganda against the regime.”

Karami was transferred from The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility to Karaj Central Penitentiary on October 28, 2023. After three months in quarantine, he was moved to Ward 15 of the prison. He was originally arrested by security forces on August 23, 2023. At the time of his arrest, security agents confiscated all electronic devices and blocked the family’s bank cards.

It is worth noting that at dawn on Saturday, January 7, 2023, Mohammad Mehdi Karami—Mashallah Karami’s son and one of the detainees from the nationwide protests—was executed in connection with the case known as the “killing of Basij member Ruhollah Ajamian.”

Prisoner Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj

HRANA News Agency – Today, Wednesday, May 14, the death sentence of a prisoner previously convicted on drug-related charges was carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

The individual hanged at dawn today has been identified by HRANA as Reza Miri.

According to information received by HRANA, Mr. Miri had been arrested on drug-related charges and was later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year — a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.

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Two Prisoners Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison

HRANA News Agency – On Monday, May 12, 2025, the death sentences of two prisoners previously convicted of murder in separate cases were carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

HRANA has confirmed the identities of the executed prisoners as Kourosh Jalili and Nasri Zar. HRANA has learned that both individuals had been arrested in separate murder cases and later sentenced to death by the criminal court.

As of the time of this report, prison officials and relevant authorities have not publicly confirmed the executions.

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year — a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.

Drug-Related Offenses: Prisoner Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj

HRANA – At dawn today, Wednesday, May 7, a prisoner previously sentenced to death on drug-related charges was executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

HRANA has confirmed the identity of the executed prisoner as Ruhollah Moradiani. He had been arrested on charges related to drug offenses and later sentenced to death by the judiciary.

As of the time of this report, prison authorities and responsible institutions have not officially announced the execution.

According to HRANA’s report, in 2024, over 52 percent of executed prisoners had been convicted on drug-related charges. Over the past ten years, individuals convicted of drug trafficking have accounted for 40 percent of all executions. Unfortunately, HRANA’s statistics show no progress in reducing executions for drug-related offenses.

Number of Executions in Ghezel Hesar Prison Rises to Four

HRANA News Agency – Today, April 30, alongside the execution of Mohsen Langarneshin, a political prisoner, in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, three other inmates previously sentenced to death on drug-related and murder charges were also executed.

In addition to the execution of Mohsen Langarneshin—who had been convicted of espionage and collaboration with hostile governments—three other inmates were also put to death. HRANA has confirmed the identity of one of them as Asghar Vatanparast, sentenced to death for drug-related offenses. The two others were executed on murder charges, though their identities have not yet been confirmed.

Further details, including the identities of the two other individuals executed, are still under investigation by HRANA.

Earlier, HRANA had reported the transfer of 11 inmates to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.

As of the time of this report, the executions of these three prisoners have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2024. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Ghezel Hesar Prison: 11 Prisoners Await Execution in Solitary Confinement

HRANA News Agency – Yesterday, April 28, four prisoners at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, who had previously been sentenced to death on charges related to drug offenses and murder, were transferred to solitary confinement for the implementation of their sentences. With the addition of these individuals, the number of prisoners transferred to solitary confinement for execution in this prison over the past four days has risen to 11.

According to information received by HRANA, one of these prisoners had been sentenced to death for murder, while three others were sentenced for drug-related offenses. In total, four of the eleven prisoners, including two Afghan nationals, had been sentenced to death for murder, while the remaining seven had received death sentences for drug-related charges.

Further details, including the identities of these prisoners, are currently being investigated by HRANA.

According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2024. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Over Three Months in Prison: Ongoing Legal Uncertainty for Atefeh Hassani

HRANA News Agency – Atefeh Hassani, the sister of political prisoner Mohammad Hassani, has spent more than three months in a state of legal uncertainty at Kachouei Prison in Karaj, with no formal charges yet addressed in court.

A source familiar with her case told HRANA, “It has been over 110 days since Ms. Hassani was arrested. She is accused of membership in anti-regime groups, but her legal case remains unresolved and no court hearings have been scheduled.”

Ms. Hassani was arrested by security forces in January 2025 at her family’s home in Karaj. Following a period of interrogation at a security detention facility in the city, she was transferred to Kachouei Prison, where she remains in custody without due process.

Atefeh Hassani is the sister of Mohammad Hassani, a political prisoner currently held in the Central Prison of Karaj.