/ IHRights#Iran: Hossein Amaninejad and Hamed Yavari were executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 11 June. Hossein was arrested… https://t.co/3lnMTwFH6z13 Jun

Iran Judiciary Chief Statement Sparks Fears of New Wave of Mass Executions of Drug Offenders in Iran

3 Oct 16
Iran Judiciary Chief Statement Sparks Fears of New Wave of Mass Executions of Drug Offenders in Iran

In stark contradiction to recent remarks by judicial officials, Iran's Judiciary Chief has declared that executions are a deterrent against drugs and has called on the quick implementation of drug-related death sentences.

Iran Human Rights (OCT 3 2016): Iran's head of Judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, recently said that the Judiciary has no plans to abolish the death penalty and called on Iranian judicial officials to not hesitate in carrying out the execution sentences for alleged drug offenders. Amoli Larijani's official remarks were made on Thursday September 29 in Mashhad, at the 13th annual conference for Iran's revolutionary, military and public courts.

According to Iranian state run media, Fars, in his remarks Amoli Larijani referred to drug traffickers as "merchants of death" and rejected calls for the complete abolition of the death penalty for crimes related to drug trafficking. "Executions are not necessarily desirable, but narcotics are a great detriment to society and also shatter families. We have no choice but to confront the issue quickly, swiftly, firmly, and decisively. We want prosecutors in the country to not to hesitate in implementing the (death) sentences," said Amoli Larijani. "We should not wait three years (before carrying out the execution sentences), until the prisoner learns how to pray in order to get amnesty...It is offensive to say that the death penalty is ineffective. If it wasn't for the strictness of the Judiciary, the situation would be much worse."

Amoli Larijani's execution order comes two weeks after Mohammad Javad Larijani, Iran's chief of the Judiciary's "human rights council", visited several countries in Europe, including Italy, for human rights dialogue with European officials.

Just last month, the deputy of the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Bagher Olfat, said that executing drug offenders in Iran has not decreased the volume of drugs: "The reality is that the death penalty for drug traffickers has not acted as a deterrent so far. We fought against many drug traffickers in accordance to the law, but, unfortunately, the volume of drugs entering and transiting through the country has increased...It is important to note that the individuals who are being executed are not the main drug traffickers, because the main drug traffickers are not involved in the shipment of drugs."

Iran Human Rights warns against mass executon of drug offenders after the Judiciary chief's statements. "Iran may be entering a new period of a high number of executions," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson for Iran Human Rights. In 2015, Iranian authorities executed nearly 1000 people on Sadeq Amoli Larijani's orders. According to Iran Human Rights, majority of the prisoners were executed on drug-related charges.

"When the Judiciary Chief instructs prosecuters to not hesitate in carrying out the execution sentences for drug offenders or to wait until the prisoners gain eligibility for amnesty, he is actually giving the execution order of thousands of prisoners at a much higher speed than before. The international community must take Mr. Larijani's execution order seriously. One option is that the UNODC could halt its anti-narcotic cooperation with Iran," says Amiry-Moghaddam. "While several top Iranian officials, among them Mr. Olfat, have admitted that executions are not a deterrent against drugs, Mr. Amoli Larijani, without presenting any new evidence, has claimed the opposite."

According to Iran Human Rights, Iranian authorities have executed at least 65 people in the past month. 51 of these executions were reportedly carried out for drug-related offenses.