Iran’s Latest Executions Bring 2023 Total to 474

Iran's judiciary has executed eight people over the past three days, according to human rights groups. The latest executions took place on Monday morning at Zahedan prison – where four prisoners were put to death for drug-related charges – the Haalvsh human rights website said. 

The four individuals were identified as 29-year-old Abdul Samad Khadem, Aqoob Ejbari, a father of eight, Mohammad Anwar Barahui, and a fourth individual with the surname Qanbarzahi. 

Two more prisoners were executed in the city at the weekend. They have been identified as Abdul Samad Shahouzahi and Mahmoud Rigi.

Meanwhile, multiple sources reported that on the morning of August 19, a man's death sentence for drug-related charges was carried out at Dezful prison. 

This individual, not publicly identified, had been arrested for "possession and trafficking of 20 kilograms of crystal meth" and was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Dezful.

The HRANA human rights website also reported the execution of another prisoner on August 21. Abdulreza Qalavand, father of one, was executed in the Shiban prison of Ahvaz after serving a decade in prison for drug-related charges.

Furthermore, on August 20, HRANA reported the transfer of another prisoner, Mehdi Bameri, to solitary confinement ahead of his own death sentence. Bameri was sentenced to death in 2016 on a murder charge.

The executions come just days after the Iran Human Rights organization warned of an "unprecedented intensification of the execution process" in recent months. 

The organization stated that 61 prisoners were executed in Iran in July, among them 11 Baluch, three Afghan, and others from various ethnicities and locations.

According to reports from Iran Human Rights, which is based in Norway, since the beginning of 2023 the group has documented reports of 474 executions in Iran. And actual figures may even surpass confirmed data.