IRAN - A woman, Zeinab Rajabi, and Vahid Vafaei executed in Isfahan

September 14, 2026 - IRAN. A woman, Zeinab Rajabi, and Vahid Vafaei executed in Isfahan

Based on information received by Hengaw, Zeinab Rajabi, a 46-year-old woman from Isfahan, was executed at Isfahan Central Prison at dawn on September 13, 2026.

Rajabi had been arrested approximately four years earlier after agreeing, amid severe financial hardship, to allow her home to be used to store drugs belonging to her brother-in-law. At the time, she was struggling to cover living expenses and the medical costs of her husband, who has a disability.

Despite her husband's testimony in court, as well as statements that Rajabi had acted out of financial desperation and did not own the drugs, the judiciary sentenced her to death. Her brother-in-law, identified as the principal defendant in the case, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Vahid Vafaei, a 47-year-old man from Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province, was executed at dawn on September 14, 2026, at Isfahan Central Prison.

Vafaei, who was married and a father of three, had been arrested two years earlier on drug-related charges.

The executions of Rajabi and Vafaei have not been announced by Iran's official media.