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Zahedan
Nation / PlaceIR

Zahedan

Capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, southeastern Iran; site of Abduljalil Shahbakhsh's secret execution on 12 May 2026.

On 12 May, Abduljalil Shahbakhsh was secretly executed at Zahedan prison 55 days after his arrest, placing the provincial capital in Hengaw's account of three secret hangings over 11-13 May.

Last refreshed: 24 August 2026

Key Question

Why does Zahedan keep appearing in Iran's wartime political execution reports?

Timeline for Zahedan

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Background

Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province in south-eastern Iran, lies in a border region adjoining Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the largest city in Iran's most ethnically Baloch province, where a Sunni Muslim majority lives within a Shia-majority country.

The city has a history of political tension between the central government and the Baloch minority. On 30 September 2022, IRGC forces opened fire on worshippers leaving a mosque during the Bloody Friday massacre, killing at least 66 people. Zahedan prison processes cases from the wider province. The documented execution of Shahbakhsh on 12 May 2026 made it a named location in the wartime execution reporting.

Key Issues
Wartime executions

Zahedan prison anchors execution report

On 12 May, Hengaw reported that Abduljalil Shahbakhsh, a Baloch detainee, was hanged at Zahedan prison 55 days after his arrest. Its account also recorded the execution of political prisoner Ehsan Afrashteh at Urmia. With Shakourzadeh's execution on 11 May, the report described three secret hangings within 48 hours.

For Zahedan, the report fixes the city as one of the locations in the 11-13 May cluster. The account does not establish the full scope of cases processed by the prison, but it identifies the prison as the place where Shahbakhsh was executed.

Common Questions
Where is Zahedan in Iran?
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the centre of Iran's ethnically Baloch, Sunni-majority southeast.
What happened in Zahedan in 2022?
On 30 September 2022, IRGC forces opened fire on worshippers leaving a mosque in Zahedan, killing at least 66 people. The incident, known as Bloody Friday, became one of the most documented events of the Mahsa Amini protests.
Why are political executions happening in Zahedan?
Zahedan is in Iran's Baloch-majority, Sunni-minority southeast — a region the IRGC targets disproportionately under its wartime moharebeh espionage charges. Hengaw documented Abduljalil Shahbakhsh's secret execution there on 12 May 2026, 55 days after his arrest.Source: Hengaw
Source Material
Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights