UN human rights chief says Iran has executed more than 10 people a week so far this year.
Tehran, Iran – Iran has hanged three prisoners, including a man known as the “sultan of cocaine,” as the United Nations warns of an increasing number of executions.
The men executed on Wednesday were members of Panjak, according to the official judiciary news outlet, which identified the group as the “largest cocaine distribution cartel” in the country.
The judiciary’s Mizan news site said the group’s leader, Hossein Panjak, was 32 and had been involved in drug smuggling for a decade when he was arrested along with five other members in 2014 at a party he organized to celebrate his growing wealth to celebrate.
During the arrest, 1 kg of cocaine, opium and methamphetamine were seized.
A short report on state television showed the men in handcuffs and said the prime suspect had been arrested 17 times before. The judiciary said the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences but did not comment on their trials.
Human rights organizations based abroad identified the two other executed men as Abdolhossein Emami Moghadam and Babak Aghaei. They said the men were hanged at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, despite pleas for clemency from relatives gathered in front of the prison.
They also said four other unnamed prisoners were executed early Wednesday at Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj, but Iranian authorities have not confirmed this.
The Mizan outlet said Friday that an unnamed “international drug smuggler” had been executed, but it was unclear if that was referring to Panjak. It said the person led three international groups smuggling narcotics to several European countries, including the Netherlands, and authorities seized 750 kg of heroin from him.
‘Terrible’ record
The executions on Wednesday came a day after UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Iran has an “appalling” record of executions this year with more than 10 people being hanged on average every week.
According to a UN statement, more than 210 people will have been executed by 2023, but the real number may be higher.
At the current rate, the number of executions this year would be much higher than last year’s 580 and could be the highest since 2015, when 972 death sentences were carried out, the UN said.
According to human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Iran executes more people each year than any other country except China.
Before Wednesday’s hangings, the last executions took place on Monday when two men were put to death for blasphemy convictions. They were accused of burning Qurans and running online groups that insulted the prophets of Islam.