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| Public hanging in Iran |
Amnesty International warned of "a new wave of drug offence executions" in Iran in a report published on Thursday, which highlights the country's extensive use of the death penalty, especially in a series of public and secret hangings.
According to the report, at least 600 people were executed in Iran from the beginning of 2011 up to the end of November, of which a minimum of 488 executions were carried out for alleged drug offences.
Amnesty said the figures showed a threefold increase in comparison to drug-related executions it documented in 2009. "Members of marginalised groups – including impoverished communities, ethnic minorities suffering discrimination, and foreign nationals, particularly Afghans – are most at risk of execution for drugs offences," it said.
Iran sees secret execution surge for drug offenses
Iran has the fourth highest rate of drug-related deaths in the world, at 91 per 1 million people aged 15-64, and is a major international transit route for drug smuggling. In recent years Iran has received international assistance, including from several European countries and the United Nations, to help stem the flow of drugs across its borders.
The European Union is providing 9.5 million euros over three years for an Iran-based project to strengthen regional anti-narcotics cooperation. The project involves German Federal Police support for the establishment of forensic laboratories in the region.
The UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has provided up to $22 million since 2005 to support training projects for Iran’s counter narcotics forces.
Belgium, France, Ireland and Japan have all previously contributed to a UNODC sniffer dog programme. The UNODC has also provided drug detection kits to Iran.
Norway, Denmark and Germany have committed to providing funding between 2011 and 2014 to support UNODC’s programme of technical cooperation on drugs and crime in Iran.
The UN programme is supposed to include work to promote reform in the Iranian justice system to help bring it in line with international standards. But in a July 2011 visit to Iran, UNODC’s Executive Director praised Iran’s counter-narcotics work without mentioning the increasing application of the death penalty for drugs offences.
“All countries and international organizations helping the Iranian authorities arrest more people for alleged drugs offences need to take a long hard look at the potential impact of that assistance and what they could do to stop this surge of executions,” said Ann Harrison.
“They cannot simply look the other way while hundreds of impoverished people are killed each year without fair trials, many only learning their fates a few hours before their deaths.”
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Source:
bikyamasr, December 15, 2011
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