Iran has hanged nine convicted drug traffickers in recent days, state media reported Tuesday, as it keeps up one of the world's highest rates of execution. Iran lies on a major opium-smuggling route between Afghanistan and Europe and has one of the world's highest rates of domestic opiate use. Figures cited by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2021 suggest 2.8 million people have a drug problem in Iran. In June, Amnesty International reported that Iranian authorities had executed at least 173 people convicted of drug-related offences during the first five months of 2023. Iran says executions are carried out only after exhaustive legal proceedings and are a necessary deterrent against drug trafficking.

Source: Hindustan Times January 02, 2024 19:26 UTC