Execution of Abbas Rashidi and Khaled Jahangiri in Qazvin and Tabriz prisons

At the end of August 2024, two people were executed in Iran, both convicted of drug-related offenses. The executions took place in the prisons of Qazvin and Tabriz and are another example of the Iranian judiciary using the death penalty for such crimes.

On Sunday, August 25, 2024, Abbas Rashidi, a 45-year-old father of two, was executed in Qazvin Prison. Rashidi had been arrested three years earlier for drug trafficking and subsequently sentenced to death. Before his arrest, he worked as a building painter. The execution was carried out without prior public announcement, and neither Iranian state media nor the judiciary have released details of the case.

Earlier, on Thursday, August 22, 2024, another prisoner, Khaled Jahangiri, was executed in Tabriz Prison. Jahangiri, also a father of two, had been imprisoned five years ago for similar drug-related offenses. He lived in Balu, a village in Urmia region. Like Rashidi, Jahangiri's execution was not reported by Iranian official sources or media.

These executions highlight Iran's continued use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes, a practice that has been widely criticized internationally. The lack of transparency in these cases raises further doubts about the fairness of the proceedings and the conditions under which such sentences are imposed.