Baluch prisoner Habibollah Ghanbarzehi Farjad executed in Kerman prison

Habibollah Ghanbarzehi Farjad, a 38-year-old Baluch prisoner from Zahedan, was executed in Kerman prison at dawn on Monday 12 October 2026. According to HRANA, citing the Center for Human Rights Defenders in Baluchistan, another prisoner, Amin Khajenezami, was also executed in the same prison that day, bringing the number of executions in Kerman prison that day to two.

Mr Ghanbarzehi Farjad's family had gone to the prison on the evening of Sunday 11 October for a final visit with him. As of the publication of this report, prison officials and the judiciary of the Islamic Republic have not officially announced the executions. No information has been published about Amin Khajenezami's charge or age.

Background of Habibollah Ghanbarzehi Farjad's case

Habibollah Ghanbarzehi Farjad, son of Allahdad, was married and a father, and worked as a driver. He was arrested in Kerman in October–November 2023 on a drug-related charge and later sentenced to death; according to human rights sources, he had not accepted the charge. Iran Human Rights had earlier warned that he had been moved to solitary confinement in Kerman prison and was at risk of imminent execution. Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, had also expressed concern about the possibility of his execution.

Habibollah Ghanbarzehi Farjad was executed in Kerman prison without any official announcement, despite the UN Special Rapporteur's warning.

The wave of executions and the share of Baluch prisoners

Baluch prisoners consistently account for a disproportionate share of drug-related executions in Iran. Iran Human Rights has also reported the execution of Ahmad Bazvand, a prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution) on a charge of "intentional murder", in Khorramabad Central Prison (Parsilon). The executions come as, according to HRANA, the Islamic Republic has executed at least 2,003 people in the past year, the highest figure in a decade. On the same day, the judiciary also announced the execution of Omar Dostaran, accused of membership in Jaish al-Adl.

Sources

• HRANA
• Iran Human Rights