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

80+ Rights Groups: UNODC Must Stop Complicity in Drug Executions in Iran

10 Apr
80+ Rights Groups: UNODC Must Stop Complicity in Drug Executions in Iran

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 10, 2024: Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and 83 Iranian and international organisations and groups have called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions. They have announced the start of a mass international campaign in this regard.

The statement reads: “We are concerned  that hundreds more will be executed in the coming months if we do not increase the political cost of these executions for the Islamic Republic. We call on all human rights organisations and activists to take part in a special global campaign to stop drug-related executions in Iran.”

Commenting on the need for the joint action, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Iran Human Rights Director and one of the organisers of the call said: “Aimed at instilling fear and preventing more protests, the Islamic Republic executed at least 471 people for drug-charged in 2023, without any political cost and consequences.” He continued: “This joint action is to raise awareness and sensitise the international community and public about drug-related executions in Iran and increase the political cost of these executions for the authorities. The execution of more than one person per day under the pretext of drug offences should become intolerable for the people and the international community.”

 

Call for joint action to stop drug-related executions in Iran

The death penalty or state murder is the Islamic Republic’s most important tool for instilling societal fear to maintain power. Executions in Iran increased dramatically following the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising, with at least 834 people executed in 2023.

In 2023, more than half of all recorded executions in Iran were for drug-related charges. At least 471 people were executed without any backlash or political cost for the Islamic Republic. The majority of those executed are from deprived and marginalised communities. The number of executions carried out in the ethnic regions, particularly the Kurd and Baluch, is disproportionally high compared to their population. In 2023, a third of those executed for drug-related charges were Baluch people.

Drug defendants are sentenced  to death by Revolutionary Courts based on torture-tainted confessions, without due process and fair trial rights and often without access to a lawyer.

Drug-related executions have not received appropriate international reaction and their daily implementation is met with media silence. This has led to the authorities carrying out 18 times more drug executions in 2023 compared to 2020 with the lowest political cost.

On the other hand, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) which cooperates with Iran in combating drug trafficking, has not only remained silent about the sharp hike in drug executions, but signed a new agreement with the Islamic Republic in May 2023. In addition to legitimising the state’s use of the death penalty, this cooperation also leads to more executions through financial aid and equipment.

We are concerned  that hundreds more will be executed in the coming months if we do not increase the political cost of these executions for the Islamic Republic. We call on all human rights organisations and activists to take part in a special global campaign to stop drug-related executions in Iran.

The aim of the campaign is to echo the voice of the most voiceless victims of the Islamic Republic’s execution and intimidation machine. We also urge the UNODC to make any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.

 

Signatories:

  1. Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO)
  2. International Committee Against Execution (ICAE)
  3. Global Campaign to Stop Executions In Iran
  4. World Coalition Against the Death Penalty 
  5. Defenders of Human Rights Center (Shirin Ebadi)
  6. Impact Iran
  7. Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM)
  8. Harm Reduction International 
  9. Kurdistan Human Rights Association - Geneva 
  10. Haalvsh 
  11. The Baloch Activists Campaign
  12. Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN)
  13. 6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network) 
  14. Kurdpa Human Rights Organization
  15. Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO)
  16. Justice for Iran
  17. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
  18. Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ)
  19. Center for Human Rights in Iran
  20. United for Iran (U4I)
  21. Hengaw Organization for Human Rights
  22. HANA Human Rights Organization
  23. Balochistan Human Rights Group
  24. Rasanak
  25. All Human Rights for All in Iran
  26. United to End Executions in Iran
  27. Siamak Pourzand Foundation
  28. The Sunny Center Foundation (USA)
  29. Hands Off Cain 
  30. Abolition Death Penalty of Iraq Organization 
  31. Rescue Alternatives Liberia 
  32. ACAT Belgique 
  33. The Christian Union for Progress and Human Rights, DRC
  34. Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo, Guatemala 
  35. Death Penalty Focus (USA)
  36. Key and Vulnerable Population Tanzania (KVP Forum)
  37. Capital Punishment Justice Project, Australia 
  38. Eleos Justice, Monash University, Australia 
  39. ACAT Germany (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
  40. German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP)
  41. Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany
  42. Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), South Korea
  43. Humanity Diaspo, France
  44.  Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU)
  45. SALAM DHR (Bahrain)
  46. ACAT France
  47. Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
  48. Association des Chercheurs Iraniens (ACI)
  49. ArcDH Human Rights of Azerbaijanis of Iran
  50. Kanoon-e Khavaran
  51. NIKA, Network of Iranians for Liberty and Democracy 
  52. Free Them Now
  53. Frauen für Freiheit e.v
  54. Solidarität mit der Iranischen Revolution - Frankfurt/Mainz
  55.  Iranian Voices in Frankfurt
  56. Bramsh - Voice of Balochistan Women
  57. International Iranian Physicians and Healthcare Providers Association (IIPHA)
  58. Aktion für Menschenrechte e.V.
  59. Simorgh; Centre socio-culturel des Iraniens de Québec
  60. Free Human Association
  61. Iranian Healthcare Association for Democracy and Human Rights
  62. Nemiran Center
  63. Women’s Independence and Sustainable Equality (WISE)
  64. Stop Child Executions (SCE)
  65. Hanai Rojhelat
  66. Alborz, Paris - collectif en soutien au soulèvement "Femme, Vie, Liberté", France
  67. Transnational Community Federation e.V
  68. HÁWAR.help Organization
  69. Norsk Iransk Råd
  70. SolidIran Association
  71. Minnesota 4Iran
  72. Ensemble pour l’Iran
  73. Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l’Homme
  74. Kurdistan Human Rights Reporters Center
  75. Iransk Solidaritetsforum
  76. Woman-Life-Freedom, Melbourne
  77. Feminista Bonn
  78. Justice Supporters Association
  79. International Women in Power
  80. Alliance Path for Iran (API)
  81. Volunteer Doctors of Kurdistan
  82. Rev Group Iran
  83. Frau Leben Freiheit Darmstadt
  84. Rojhalat Women Organisation