Unnamed Man Executed for Drug Charges in Dezful

According to the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency, a man was executed in Dezful Prison on 19 August. The unnamed man was sentenced to death for drug-related charges.

He was arrested for being in possession of 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and sentenced to death by the Dezful Revolutionary Court, per the report.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. At least 206 people were executed for drug-related charges in the first six months of 2023, a 126% rise compared to the same period in 2022 when 91 were executed. 40 people were executed in the same period in 2021.

The number of drug executions dramatically dropped in 2018 following a 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Laws. Consequently, drug executions ranged between 24-30 per annum between 2018-2020. The Amendment was reversed in practice in 2021 when executions increased ten-fold to 126 in 2021 and doubled again in 2022 with 256 drug-related executions.