For several years now the right to life has been under heavy assault in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The country has followed a familiar but troubling pattern regarding the use of the death penalty. It has consistently ranked second in... more
For several years now the right to life has been under heavy assault
in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The country has followed a familiar
but troubling pattern regarding the use of the death penalty. It has
consistently ranked second in the world in the number of executions
carried out (behind China), and first in executions per capita. More
recently, the upward trend in executions that began in 2010-11 has
reached alarming levels not seen in more than two decades.3 In 2015,
alone, human rights organisations tracking the number of executions
in Iran documented at least 966 executions, with over 65 percent of
these executions related to non-violent drug crimes. In that same
year, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran accounted for around 90 percent
of all executions in the world (excluding China), helping reverse a
global trend that had seen a constant reduction of death penalty cases
worldwide during the past 25 years.
in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The country has followed a familiar
but troubling pattern regarding the use of the death penalty. It has
consistently ranked second in the world in the number of executions
carried out (behind China), and first in executions per capita. More
recently, the upward trend in executions that began in 2010-11 has
reached alarming levels not seen in more than two decades.3 In 2015,
alone, human rights organisations tracking the number of executions
in Iran documented at least 966 executions, with over 65 percent of
these executions related to non-violent drug crimes. In that same
year, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran accounted for around 90 percent
of all executions in the world (excluding China), helping reverse a
global trend that had seen a constant reduction of death penalty cases
worldwide during the past 25 years.
