Iran on Wednesday executed three men accused of belonging to a drug cartel, the judiciary said, amid concerns from the United Nations over a spike in executions in the country.
“The death sentences of three members of the Panjak gang, the country’s main cocaine distribution cartel and one of the largest drug cartels, were carried out after the trial this morning,” reported justice site Mizan Online.
According to the agency, six members of the gang were arrested in 2014 and a quantity of cocaine, opium and methamphetamine were seized.
These executions by hanging come two days after those of two men convicted of blasphemy by Washington and human rights NGOs.
And on Saturday, an Iranian-Swedish dissident, Habib Chaab, was executed, who had been sentenced to death for leading an Arab separatist group in the west of the country and for “terrorism”.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday denounced “the alarmingly high number” of executions in Iran this year, which averages more than ten per week.
At least 209 people have been executed since January 1, mostly for drug-related offences, according to the United Nations. The number could be even higher, emphasizes the UN.
In 2022, “around 580 people would have been executed,” said Türk.
The Iranian authorities described the criticism of European countries after the execution of Habib Chaad as “unjustified” and accused them of “sponsoring terrorism”.