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. 8
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 to ensure that the application of the death penalty complies with international human rights
standards.
In its latest General Comment on Article 6, the Human Rights Committee explicitly stipulated
that the term “the most serious crimes” must “be read restrictively and appertain only to crimes
of extreme gravity, involving intentional killing. Crimes not resulting directly and intentionally
in death […], although serious in nature, can never serve as the basis, within the framework of
Article 6, for the imposition of the death penalty.”9 The Human Rights Committee has
consistently underscored that drug-related offences do not meet the threshold of “most serious
crimes” and that the death penalty should not be applied to them.10
While the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has reconsidered its anti-narcotics laws
and decreased the number of crimes carrying the death penalty, it continues to execute numerous
persons for drug-related crimes, in contradiction with international human rights standards. This
suggests that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not fully reconsidered its views about the deterrent
effects of its drug policies.
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has been PARTIALLY implemented.
8
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4721
General comment No.36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/1_Global/CCPR_C_GC_36_8785_E.pdf
10
CCPR/C/PAK/CO/1, para. 17; CCPR/C/THA/CO/2, para. 17; CCPR/C/KWT/CO/3, para. 22; A/71/372, para. 48; and Human
Rights Committee, general comment No. 36.
9
2