Two Human Rights Organizations: Iran Must Halt the Execution of 12 Drug Offenders

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called for the halt of the execution of 12 individuals convicted of drug-related crimes in Iran, scheduled to be hanged on Saturday, January 25, in the central prison of Karaj. In a statement released on Friday, these two human rights organizations criticized Iran's judiciary, stating that despite promises made by officials of the Islamic Republic, the execution process continues in the country without significant reduction in numbers. The statement continues that officials at the central prison of Karaj transferred at least 12 individuals sentenced to death for drug crimes to solitary confinement on January 19 and informed them that their executions were certain, but the implementation of this sentence was postponed for a few days due to the death of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former president of Iran. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International identified four of these individuals as Ali Mohammad Lorestani, Ali Abadi, Mohammad Soleimani, and Majid Badrlou. The two organizations then stated that they learned from informed sources that these four individuals did not have access to a lawyer during their interrogations, and the death sentences of Lorestani, Soleimani, and Abadi were based on confessions from other prisoners. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International ultimately emphasize that Iranian authorities must end the execution process in the country and refrain from applying the death penalty for drug offenses by changing the laws. The Iranian parliament approved a proposal in early Azar (late November) that, if finalized, would impose alternative punishments other than death for drug offenders. Meanwhile, the Attorney General has recently emphasized that the death penalty will not be removed from the anti-drug law, and only some aspects of issuing death sentences in this law may be amended. Previously, the Deputy for Social Affairs and Crime Prevention of the Judiciary announced that the execution of 'drug traffickers' in Iran has not been 'deterrent.'