KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iranian authorities have executed two Afghan nationals convicted of murder without informing their families or allowing them a final visit, a Norway-based human rights group said, as executions of Afghans in the country continue to rise.
In a report on Friday, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said 52-year-old Ansar Nami and 46-year-old Nazif Rasoulkhandeh were hanged at Mashhad Central Prison on Wednesday, September 2.
The two men had been arrested two years earlier in connection with the killing of two people at an unfinished building and were later sentenced to death under Iran’s qisas retributive justice laws, according to the group.
Hengaw reported that the prisoners were not informed in advance of their executions and were denied a final meeting with their families.
Iran remains one of the world’s leading users of the death penalty, applying capital punishment for murder, drug trafficking and security-related offences. Drug-related cases account for a large share of the executions. Hengaw documented at least 109 executions across Iran in June alone, a 10% increase from the same month the previous year. At least 20 Afghan nationals have been executed on various charges so far this year.
Iran hosts one of the largest Afghan communities outside Afghanistan, with millions of migrants and refugees who fled conflict and economic hardship. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Iran’s handling of cases involving foreign nationals, pointing to concerns over fair trial standards, limited access to lawyers and a lack of transparency in judicial proceedings.
The United Nations and international rights groups, including Amnesty International, have long urged Iranian authorities to halt executions. They argue the practice violates the right to life and that many trials fall short of international fair trial standards.
