KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iranian authorities executed three Afghan nationals, including a 70-year-old man, on drug-related charges on Sunday, a human rights group said, the latest reported cases amid a rise in executions involving Afghan citizens in the country.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Norway-based rights group that monitors human rights abuses in Iran, said the executions took place at Adelabad Prison in the southern city of Shiraz and at Zabol Central Prison in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Two of the men, identified as Mirwais Khalilzadi, 55, from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, and Ebrahim Ahmadshahi, 40, from Khost province, were executed in Shiraz in separate drug-related cases.
Hengaw said Khalilzadi had been arrested two years ago, while Ahmadshahi was detained one year ago. Both were later sentenced to death on drug charges.
In a separate statement, Hengaw said a third Afghan national, Homayoun Nurzehi, 70, was executed in Zabol. The group said he had been arrested around two years earlier and later sentenced to death on similar charges. He had remained in prison until his execution.
Iranian authorities and state media have not publicly confirmed the executions.
The latest cases come less than a week after another Afghan national, Abdullah Jalali, 25, was executed in Zahedan Prison on drug-related charges, according to Hengaw. Jalali, from Afghanistan’s Nimruz province, had been arrested four years ago before being put to death last Wednesday.
Hengaw said at least 12 Afghan nationals have been executed in Iranian prisons since the start of 2026, in a period of less than six months, underscoring what the rights group described as a continued increase in capital punishment cases involving Afghan nationals.
Iran remains one of the world’s top executioners, applying capital punishment for a wide range of crimes, including murder, drug trafficking and some security-related offences. Drug-related cases account for a significant share of executions in the country.
Hengaw documented at least 1,858 executions across Iranian prisons in 2025, including 85 Afghan nationals, marking a sharp rise compared with previous years.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran’s use of the death penalty, citing concerns over due process, limited access to legal representation and a lack of transparency in judicial proceedings. Such concerns are often raised in cases involving foreign nationals, particularly Afghans, who form one of the largest migrant communities in Iran.
Iran hosts millions of Afghan migrants and refugees, many of whom have fled decades of conflict and economic hardship in Afghanistan. Rights groups say Afghan nationals in Iran often face legal and economic vulnerabilities, including limited access to legal support in criminal cases.
