D. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to accelerate the process of amending its Anti-narcotic Law and to replace the death penalty for drug-related offences by penalties which comply with relevant international standards The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran generally considers drug-trafficking a serious offence requiring the death penalty under certain circumstances and claims its anti-narcotic regulations and heavy sentences act as effective deterrents.18 The Government reviewed and amended its Anti-Narcotic Law in 2017, notably reducing the number of crimes that can be sentenced with the death penalty. Between 2010 and 2017, 3,224 individuals were reportedly executed for drug-related crimes.19 According to Iranian officials, from 2014 to 2017, between 70% and 80% of executions per year were related to drug offences.20 The high rate of execution can be explained by the previous version of the Anti-Narcotic Law (amended in 2017), which prescribed the death penalty for a wide-range of crimes. For example, under Article 4 of the previous version of the law, a person carrying 5 kg or more of narcotics could be sentenced to death. In November 2017 an amendment made to the law on drug trafficking entered into force, replacing the mandatory death penalty with a prison term of up to 30 years for non-violent drugrelated offences and increasing the quantity of drugs required for a death sentence to be imposed. As a result of the amendment, since 2017, the number of death penalties issued for drug-related crimes significantly decreased.21 However, mandatory death sentences for numerous drug-related offences remain and the law transformed a number of crimes into capital crimes for first-time offenders in specific circumstances. 22 At least 30 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2019 and 25 in 2020. On May 3, Iran Human Rights reported that during the first four months of 2021, 22 out of 82 executions were carried out as a result of drug-related charges - a 300% increase compared to the first trimesters of the two previous years. 23 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 investigated and adjudicated. Iran does not have any administrative processes or independent human rights monitoring mechanisms in place that ensure that the application of the death penalty is in line with international human rights standards. 18 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, September 2016, https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F71%2F418&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop. 19 ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf 20 < https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/305059/ > 21 ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf 22 Drug trafficking law, articles 8 and 45. 23 https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4721/ 4