reportedly targeting disproportionately members of minorities.18 19 Further, the Government of
Iran has been responding to protests with excessive and unlawful force.20
B. Death penalty
There is currently no standing moratorium on death penalty in Iran. Most of the crimes that are
punishable by death in Iranian law would not be considered “most serious” under international
law. Iranian law allows the issuance of death sentences for various crimes. There are three types
of death penalty punishments in Iranian law. Qisas execution, hud`ud execution and tazir
execution. Currently the following crimes are punishable by death: intentional murder (qisas)21;
sex offenses including adultery with married persons, rape, incest and sodomy (hudud)22; crimes
against religion and society, including moharebeh, corruption, apostasy, and hypocrisy (hudud);
repeating offenses for specific crimes including drinking alcohol, adultery with unmarried
(hudud); and some drugs related offences, military espionage, disruption of the economic
system, insulting the prophet Mohammad (tazir).
Despite the existence of several means and mechanisms that accept complaints regarding the
violation of rights in Iran, such as the Judge’s Disciplinary Court, the Article 90 Parliamentary
Commission and, in general, any appeals courts including the Supreme Court, there is little
evidence to suggest that these complaints are properly analyzed and adjudicated. Iran does not
have any administrative processes or independent human rights monitoring mechanisms in place
that ensure the prohibition of capital punishment. Officials tasked with carrying out inspections
of detention centers, such as prison wardens and prosecutors, are all considered part of the same
judicial structure. This could result in biased investigations into cases of mistreatment and
arbitrary deprivation of life in detention facilities.
Regarding Iran’s drug law, a reform restricting the use of capital punishment was made in 2017.
The bill amends article 45 of the law of October 1988 on Combating drugs. This represents an
18
See more: Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, http://www.ahraz.org/association-for-the-humanrights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-the-current-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-arearrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/
19
See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/
20
The Governmental crackdown on the November 2019 protests is emblematic of Iran’s repression of the rights to freedom of
expression, assembly and association. See more: Amnesty International, Trampling Humanity: Mass arrests, disappearances and
torture since Iran’s 2019 November protests, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2891/2020/en/
21
The subject of "Qisas" is mentioned in the third book of the Islamic Penal Code, which covers Articles 289 to 537, Articles
301 to 311 (Chapter 3 in Part I, Book III), and Articles 381 to 385 (Chapter II in Book III).
22
The subject of "Hudud" is mentioned in the second book of the Islamic Penal Code, which covers Articles 217 to 288. Among
the crimes under this "title" that could lead to the death penalty are:
Adultery (Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Second Book), Articles 224 and 225.
Sodomy (Chapter 2, Part 1 of the Second Book), Articles 234 and 236.
Insult to the Prophets (Chapter 5, Section 1, Book 2), Article 262.
Theft for the fourth time (Chapter 7, Part 1 of the second book), Article 278.
Moharebeh (War against God) (Chapter 8, Part 1 of the Second Book), Article 282.
Corruption on Earth (Chapter 9, Section 1 of the Second Book), Articles 286 and 287.
3