110 inmates sentenced to death in Iranian Kurdistan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A court in Iran’s Kurdish city of Sanandaj has sentenced 110 inmates, including four underage offenders, to death for manslaughter and drug trafficking, officials told the media Wednesday.
Three of the convicts are political activists who were charged with anti-government actions and “opposition to the rule of God,” according to official statements from the court.
Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the region with over 700 people executed so far this year, most of them convicted on drug-related charges, according to Amnesty International.
The rights group said last week international law did not allow the death penalty for drug offenses, and appealed to Iranian authorities “to conduct fair trials.”
Of the 110 convicts, 37 were charged with possession or trafficking illicit drugs, and 69 others were accused of murder.
According to Amnesty, many of the accused in Iran confess to crimes under torture and in unfair trials.
Behrouz Alkhani, a Kurdish political prisoner, was executed last month while waiting for the outcome of a supreme court appeal, Amnesty said.
Three of the convicts are political activists who were charged with anti-government actions and “opposition to the rule of God,” according to official statements from the court.
Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the region with over 700 people executed so far this year, most of them convicted on drug-related charges, according to Amnesty International.
The rights group said last week international law did not allow the death penalty for drug offenses, and appealed to Iranian authorities “to conduct fair trials.”
Of the 110 convicts, 37 were charged with possession or trafficking illicit drugs, and 69 others were accused of murder.
According to Amnesty, many of the accused in Iran confess to crimes under torture and in unfair trials.
Behrouz Alkhani, a Kurdish political prisoner, was executed last month while waiting for the outcome of a supreme court appeal, Amnesty said.