Shirvan prison: Reza Rajabian and Naser Parvaneh executed on murder charges

The Islamic Republic has executed two prisoners in Shirvan prison in North Khorasan province. Iran Human Rights announced that Reza Rajabian, 23, was executed at dawn on Thursday 15 October 2026 and Naser Parvaneh, 28, on Monday 5 October, on murder charges. As of the publication of this report, neither the Islamic Republic's media nor its officials had announced either execution.

According to an informed source, Reza Rajabian had spent five years in prison and was only a little over 18 at the time of the murder. Two cousins and another relative of his were executed in the same case about two years ago. The same source said that his brother-in-law, who is regarded as the first defendant in the case, and another man remain in prison under death sentences and are at risk of imminent execution.

The case of Naser Parvaneh

Naser Parvaneh had spent four years in prison. He had been sentenced for the murder of one of his friends during a fight over his sister. According to human rights sources, his sister was also imprisoned for two years in connection with the same case.

The wave of hidden executions

Unannounced executions in provincial prisons are part of a wide wave of executions in Iran, about which the United Nations and human rights bodies have repeatedly warned. In recent days DIAR has reported on the execution of Salar Rashidzadeh in Yasuj prison after his mother died during their last visit and the execution of Habib Rakhmshah, a father of five, in Gorgan prison. Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, has also called in his new report for an immediate halt to executions in Iran.

Human rights bodies say defendants in murder cases in the Islamic Republic's courts are often denied a fair trial and full access to a lawyer, and that the execution of people who were close to 18 at the time of the crime doubles concern about the execution of juveniles.

Two executions were carried out in Shirvan prison with no official announcement, and two other prisoners in the same case are at risk of execution.