Four Lawyers Request a UN Body to Halt Executions of Drug Offenders in Iran

Four Iranian lawyers have sent an open letter to the "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime," requesting that any cooperation with the Islamic Republic be conditioned on an immediate halt to executions related to drug offenses. According to the Iran Human Rights website, Hossein Raeisi, Tanaz Kolahchian, Mohammad Moqimi, and Nira Ansari emphasized in their letter that the UNODC has financially and technically collaborated with the Islamic Republic for years in combating drugs. They stated: "The Islamic Republic, without regard to the causes of crime and preventive measures against drug trafficking, merely applies the death penalty as the main solution in its criminal policy regarding drug-related crimes." The four Iranian lawyers declared that the execution of drug offenders is a "gross violation of the right to life" and emphasized that such a decision by the UNODC could lead to a reduction of half of the executions in Iran and pave the way for the abolition of this punishment and respect for the right to life in the country. The authors of this letter stressed that the cooperation of the UNODC has not led to a decrease in the rate of these crimes but has only resulted in more arrests and executions. These lawyers clarified that the people of countries committed to human rights principles are paying the costs of executions in Iran through financial support from the UNODC. They criticized the "media silence" and the lack of international response regarding the executions of drug offenders in Iran, emphasizing that this has allowed the Islamic Republic to increase drug-related executions 18-fold compared to three years ago with minimal cost. The letter referred to the widespread use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic for drug crimes to instill fear in society, the failure to adhere to fair trial principles in the prosecution of such offenders, and the ineffectiveness of the death penalty in reducing drug crimes. Previously, more than eighty Iranian and international human rights organizations issued a statement demanding that the continuation of cooperation between the UNODC and the Islamic Republic be conditioned on halting drug-related executions. They also announced the launch of a "comprehensive international campaign" on this issue. According to the press release from 82 Iranian and international human rights organizations, individuals detained on drug-related charges constitute more than half of the executions in 2023, and "471 executions of drug offenders have incurred no cost for the government."