There is nothing new about the Islamic Republic ranking second for number of executions, after China. But the fact that the official number almost reached 300 (to be precise: 289) in 2014 is harsh.
It is also obvious that this number and the statistics shown in previous years are certainly below reality, since there are no publicly available data on capital punishment carried out in the country. Reliable sources informed Amnesty International that the figure might be even bigger than 740.
According to some ethical principles, all, but only guilty people deserve to be punished, and of course, in proportion to the severity of their crime.
And what does the international law say about the death penalty? It calls on states to guarantee that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”
The law also provides that “In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime [..].”
The United Nations General Assembly stressed the aforementioned paragraph from 1966, by voting on a moratorium on death penalty in 2007, and again in December 2012 with the vast majority of the states in favour.
But still, the Iranian authorities executes numerous prisoners for 'non serious' crimes - such as 'insulting the prophet', 'enmity against God', being a member of an armed opposition group or for drugs offences. Credible sources generally conclude that executions for drug offences constitute more than three quarters of the total number of executions in Iran.
Drug trafficking represents a major challenge for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to the country’s geographical location and, particularly, its vulnerable border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, it has become a major transit country for illicit drugs. Afghanistan is the world's largest illicit opium producer; above 70% of Afghan opiates are trafficked via Iran and Pakistan every year to East and South-East Asia and to Europe, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Reports also show that the country has one of the most serious drug addiction problems in the world.
In response to these challenges, over the years, Iran has established one of the strongest counter-narcotics enforcement capabilities in the region. An effective instrument to radically combat drug consumption and drug trafficking is the capital punishment, sometimes cited by the Iranian authorities. However, it has been documented that the growing number of executions for alleged drug offences in recent years hasn’t entailed a decrease in drug trafficking or drug use.
John Ryan, the CEO of drug research and advocacy organisation Pennington Institute, says "The scale of people who get caught drug trafficking and the scale of the drug market proves most people think they will get away with it and are prepared to play Russian roulette.”