Anti-Drug Official: No Executions Will Be Abolished, Nor Will Government-Distributed Drugs Exist

On Thursday, September 14, the Deputy Head of Iran's Anti-Drug Headquarters announced in a speech that the death penalty for drug-related offenses will not be completely abolished. According to the Fars News Agency, Ali Moidi, the Deputy Head of the Anti-Drug Headquarters, stated: "Neither will executions be abolished, nor will drugs be distributed by the government and parliament." Moidi further explained that the penalties were supposed to be qualitatively improved, not that the death penalty would be entirely removed. This statement comes amid ongoing discussions in Iran regarding the reduction or abolition of the death penalty for certain drug offenders, which have been debated in both the government and parliament, with some proposals already approved. For instance, the general principles of a bill to reduce the death penalty for drug traffickers were approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday, July 16. If finalized, this bill could save thousands of death row inmates from execution. Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world, consistently appearing at the top of annual reports on this issue, with a significant number of those executed being drug-related offenders. In this context, the Iran Human Rights Organization, based in Norway, reported that 239 people were executed in Iran in the past six months, with nearly half of them being drug traffickers. In efforts to reduce the number of executions in Iran, the Iranian parliament approved an amendment to the anti-drug law in late August, which, if confirmed by the Guardian Council, would significantly decrease the number of people executed for drug-related crimes. This proposal faced opposition from the beginning, having been sent back to the Judiciary Commission for amendments four times before final approval. Officials from the judiciary, police, and the Anti-Drug Headquarters were among the opponents of this proposal. Now, the Deputy Head of the Anti-Drug Headquarters has reiterated that there is no discussion about abolishing the death penalty or distributing drugs in Iran, even suggesting that these discussions have been raised with "political views" in mind. He did not provide further explanation but stated: "None of these discussions had a proper scientific basis; neither will executions be abolished, nor will drugs be distributed by the government and parliament." Meanwhile, in July, the spokesperson for the Judiciary and Legal Commission of the parliament announced the "final approval" of a proposal for government distribution of drugs "to sever the connection between addicts and traffickers." Hassan Norouzi, the spokesperson for this commission, even mentioned that all authorities agreed with this proposal, stating that "the plan for government distribution of drugs will be similar to what was done before the revolution." At the same time, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, welcomed the new steps taken by the parliament regarding reforms in laws related to drug trafficking penalties, noting it as a positive change in the field of human rights in Iran.