Shahindokht Molaverdi Summoned to Court

The spokesperson of Iran's judiciary has announced that Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, has been officially summoned to court. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, mentioned on April 22 that the summons is related to a complaint filed in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Previously, reports had surfaced about the prosecutor's office in Sistan and Baluchestan filing a complaint against Molaverdi, who had stated in a March interview with Mehr News Agency that all men in a village in Sistan and Baluchestan had been executed on drug trafficking charges, warning about the consequences of such issues. Her statements received relatively widespread attention and prompted reactions from judicial authorities in Iran. Ejei told reporters on Sunday that the complaint from Sistan and Baluchestan has been sent to Tehran. According to the judiciary spokesperson, 'Tehran's prosecutor's office has summoned Ms. Molaverdi, and she is expected to appear in court to explain and respond.' Previously, the deputy prosecutor of Zahedan had denied Molaverdi's statements, asserting that 'spreading falsehoods is subject to criminal prosecution.' The number of executions in Iran reached a new record last year, totaling one thousand cases, primarily due to drug trafficking, a subject that has faced international criticism. Human rights organizations are calling for a halt to executions in Iran, arguing that issuing death sentences is not an effective method for combating drug trafficking and does not lead to a decrease in such crimes. A group of human rights advocates has also called for the suspension of UN aid to Tehran for drug control until executions related to drug offenses are abolished. Efforts to change the laws regarding the execution of drug traffickers have been made within Iran. The judiciary claims that if the law on drug-related executions is amended, '80% of executions will be eliminated.' However, attempts to change the laws have not yielded significant results, and the Drug Control Headquarters in Iran is among the organizations opposing such changes.