KABUL — At least 21 Afghan nationals were executed in Iranian prisons during the first three months of 2025, according to a report released by Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based advocacy organization. The majority of those executed had been convicted of drug-related offenses.
The executions were carried out in various prisons across Iran, including Qezel Hesar in Karaj, as well as central facilities in Zahedan, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Isfahan and Boroujerd, the report said.
Rights monitors warned that the real number of executions is likely higher, as many are not officially announced by Iranian authorities. Afghan prisoners, the organization noted, often lack access to legal representation and are unable to communicate their status to the outside world. Many have no family support in Iran and remain largely invisible within the prison system.
In one of the most recent cases, three Afghan citizens — Ezzatullah Arab, Moeen Arab and Abdul Bari — were executed in Bandar Abbas prison on charges related to narcotics.
“The Afghan detainees in Iran do not have access to legal aid, including defense lawyers,” said Safia Arifi, an Afghan migrant living in Iran. “The condition of Afghan prisoners is truly concerning.”
According to Iran Human Rights, more than 80 Afghan nationals were executed in Iran in 2024, marking a sharp rise in executions since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. The group added that Afghans represent the largest segment of non-Iranian nationals facing capital punishment in the country.
Nasrullah Stanikzai, a legal and political analyst, criticized the Taliban for remaining silent in the face of these executions.
“The visit of a Taliban judicial delegation led by Abdul Malik Haqqani, the deputy chief justice, to Iran in December 2023 had no impact on halting the execution of Afghan nationals,” Stanikzai said.
According to the Taliban’s prison administration, between 5,000 to 6,000 Afghan citizens are currently incarcerated in Iranian prisons.
