Iran executes two men convicted on drug and murder charges at Tabriz prison

Hengaw – Monday, July 13, 2026

Iranian authorities executed Abdolreza Heydari and Mehdi Latifi, convicted in separate cases involving drug and murder charges, at Tabriz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Abdolreza Heydari, 59, from Bandar Abbas, and Mehdi Latifi, 27, from Tabriz, were executed at dawn on July 13, 2026, at Tabriz Central Prison.

Heydari was a father of two who worked as a taxi driver before his arrest. Informed sources said his wife developed severe kidney failure eight years ago, forcing the family to sell their home, car and land to pay for her treatment and a kidney transplant. After the transplant failed and she required another transplant, Heydari turned to drug trafficking because of financial hardship.

Heydari was arrested two years ago about three kilometers outside Tabriz on charges of transporting 14 kilograms of narcotics that had been concealed in his brother-in-law’s vehicle. He was later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz, which also ordered the confiscation of the vehicle.

Latifi, a construction worker before his arrest, was detained about five years ago following a street altercation in which he was accused of murder. He was later sentenced to death under Iran’s qisas (retributive justice) laws.

Iranian state media and judicial authorities had not publicly announced the executions.