consensual same-sex intercourse between men4, some cases of adultery,5 drug related crimes, or
for vaguely defined offences such as moharebeh (“enmity against god”)6 and efsad-e fel-arz
(“corruption on earth”).7 The Human Rights Committee explicitly stipulated that the imposition
of the death penalty cannot “be based on vaguely defined criminal provisions, whose application
to the convicted individual would depend on subjective or discretionary considerations the
application of which is not reasonably foreseeable.”8 The lack of precision and clarity about the
crime of moharebeh, for instance, grants judges with broad discretion.
Iranian authorities do not publish statistics on the number of executions or details of crimes that
were sentenced with the death penalty. Iranian officials rarely and inconsistently report
incomplete data on executions conducted in the country. 9 However, NGOs reported, between
January 2015 and December 2019, at least 2,572 executions, 972 solely for the year 2015.10
Reports received by OHCHR indicated a decrease in the number of executions between 2017 and
2018 (437 in 2017 compared to 207 in 2018 for the same period). 11 Iran Human Rights and
ECPM reported that the Islamic Republic carried out at least 273 executions in 2018, 280 in
2019, and 267 in 2020.12 The Islamic Republic of Iran has not declared a moratorium on the use
of executions for all crimes not considered “most serious” under international law.
B. The Special Rapporteur calls on the authorities to consider working with
international and national stakeholders to amend its anti-narcotics laws in line with
international human rights conventions to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a
party.
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.13 However, 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
4
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Article 235, English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
5
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Articles 136 and 225, English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
6
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Article 279, English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
7
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Article 286, English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
8
UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), General comment no. 36, Article 6 (Right to Life), 3 September 2019, CCPR/C/GC/35,
available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5e5e75e04.html
9
ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf
10
ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf
11
Report of the UN Secretary General on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, February 2019,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F40%2F24&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
12
https://iranhr.net/media/files/Rapport_iran_2021-gb-290321-BD.pdf
13
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.
2