About 150 Iranian lawmakers this week signed a bill to significantly
reduce the number of people the Islamic Republic executes on drug
trafficking charges, but the reform is already facing stiff opposition.
According to reformist MPs behind the parliamentary bill, the mass number of executions has failed to reduce drug trafficking in the country. "The vast majority of those who were executed or are on death row are small-time dealers, first-time convicts, and their death destroys their families," MP Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi told
He said the bill specified that the death penalty should only be applied to specific cases, such as for repeat offenders and drug barons.
The reform is a bold initiative in Iran, where the criminal justice system stems from Islamic sharia law, and under which drug trafficking is punishable by death
Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a conservative politician, has also expressed public opposition to the reform. "There are cases where a person is guilty of corruption, and his existence will only produce more corruption," he told
Iran continues to be among the countries that execute the highest number of their own citizens. Tehran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, placing it alongside China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the top tier of countries practicing capital punishment, according to Amnesty International
UN chief Ban Ki-moon admonished Iran’s execution record in a 19-page report released by the organization on October 3. He said he was “deeply disturbed” by the “alarming rate” of executions in Iran, despite President Hassan Rouhani's previous pledge to address the issue
According to reformist MPs behind the parliamentary bill, the mass number of executions has failed to reduce drug trafficking in the country. "The vast majority of those who were executed or are on death row are small-time dealers, first-time convicts, and their death destroys their families," MP Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi told
He said the bill specified that the death penalty should only be applied to specific cases, such as for repeat offenders and drug barons.
The reform is a bold initiative in Iran, where the criminal justice system stems from Islamic sharia law, and under which drug trafficking is punishable by death
Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a conservative politician, has also expressed public opposition to the reform. "There are cases where a person is guilty of corruption, and his existence will only produce more corruption," he told
Iran continues to be among the countries that execute the highest number of their own citizens. Tehran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, placing it alongside China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the top tier of countries practicing capital punishment, according to Amnesty International
UN chief Ban Ki-moon admonished Iran’s execution record in a 19-page report released by the organization on October 3. He said he was “deeply disturbed” by the “alarming rate” of executions in Iran, despite President Hassan Rouhani's previous pledge to address the issue
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