Balochistan: Iran Executes Seven Prisoners, Including Five Baloch and Two Afghan Nationals

QUETTA: On Saturday, March 2, 2025, at least seven prisoners, including five Baluch nationals and two Afghan citizens, were executed in Zahedan Central Prison in Iranian Occupied Balochistan.

The prisoners were reportedly sentenced to death for charges related to murder and drug-related offences.

According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, the identities of the executed individuals have been confirmed as follows: Baseer Rodini, 31, from Zahedan, Farhad Dahmarde, 46, father of four children, from Zabol, Musa Pahang, 43, father of two children, from Zahedan, Qasem Qanbardzaei, 39, father of one child, from Mirjaveh, Murad Sabro (Badpa) 40 from Zahedan, Saeedullah Zarai, 28, from Afghanistan, Asim Charikar, 30, from Afghanistan.

According to campaign sources, Baseer Rodini and Murad Sabro were sentenced to death in retaliation for murder, with their sentences being carried out. Murad Sabro had been arrested by Iranian security forces in 2021.

The remaining prisoners were reportedly arrested and charged on narcotic-related allegations. Farhad Dahmarde was detained in 2020, Musa Pahang in 2019, and both Saeedullah Zarai and Asim Charikar in 2022. The exact arrest date for Qasem Qanberdzaei is unknown.

The executions took place in the early hours of Saturday, March 2, 2025. This marks a continuation of the ongoing trend of executions in Iran, particularly involving oppressed nations including Kurds, Baloch and others.

The Baloch Activists Campaign reported that in 2024, at least 101 prisoners from Baloch-majority areas of Iran were executed, with 73 of them charged with drug-related offences and 28 others for murder. Among those executed were one female prisoner and one child offender.

Human rights organisations have long criticized Iran’s use of the death penalty, particularly for drug offences and under vague and controversial charges.