Last year, the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced the amendment of the Anti-Drug Law in order to create a glimmer of hope in this area. In this plan, the representatives of the Assembly demanded the elimination of the death penalty for drug-related crimes, except in cases of armed trafficking or organized groups.

According to the resolution of the Assembly for Determining the Expediency of the System, in the current law on narcotics, the punishment for buying, selling, and possessing 30 grams of drugs, including crystal meth and heroin, as well as 5 kilograms of certain drugs such as cocaine or grass, is execution. This law has led to the execution of a large number of people in the past years, and currently, there is a large population facing the death penalty.

The current topic of discussion among various officials these days is the determination of alternative punishments in case of changes to the current law and the elimination of the death penalty, which has caused disagreements.

In this issue of the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh”, we have had a conversation with Dr. Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer and professor of law at the university, about the special file. He has mentioned the reasons for the ineffectiveness and deterrent nature of harsh punishments and executions, and the necessity of using alternative punishments for certain crimes. We have also asked this lawyer, who has represented many defendants in drug-related crimes, about the reasons for the high volume of these crimes in Iran.

As you are aware, these days many judicial and law enforcement officials, especially members of the parliament, are jointly emphasizing the need for reform and change in the law on combating drugs, which has sparked hope for the removal of the death penalty for drug offenses. What do you think has led lawmakers in Iran to finally realize that this law needs to be changed?

Lawmakers do not recognize the need for change in the law. Changing the law requires special social conditions; the governing law or current law must be ineffective and this ineffectiveness must be proven, and its change must be demanded as a public demand. When it is prepared as a public demand, it is approved in any authority it is supposed to be.

The necessity of change in the drug control law has been felt for years and has become a public demand. However, crimes and laws are a result of social life. This issue is also addressed in religious narratives; just as when Adam was alone, he had no restrictions or prohibitions and did not commit any crimes. But as soon as he became two with Eve and formed the first human community, (despite being made from the same cloth and being different from me and you), they committed a crime. The population of four killed Adam; Cain killed Abel. Therefore, it is a false belief to create an ideal and utopian society where there is no crime.

As I mentioned, in my opinion, this issue has now become a public demand that this method of fighting against drugs is not effective. However, considering that the parliament alone is not able to change these laws, there are special circumstances in terms of internal protocols.

There are many reasons that can be mentioned, but in your opinion, what is the most important reason for the high volume of drug-related crimes in Iran?

Iran is in a unique geographical position; it shares a border with Afghanistan, which produces 90% of the world’s raw opium – namely, heroin. On the other hand, the drug market is the second most profitable market in the world after weapons, with an annual turnover of several hundred billion dollars. But another important issue is that unemployment is rampant in our country. Let me give you an example. We have a farm in Kerman. There are people who travel hundreds of kilometers from Sistan and Baluchestan just to come here and earn a meager income, and they even beg and plead for work. In a country where the employment situation is so dire and a laborer is willing to work for only 20-30 thousand tomans a day, it’s not surprising that they would travel such a distance and work far from home. If this person falls into the hands of smuggling gangs, it should not be surprising. If they are told to swallow a 500

Does that mean you consider unemployment as the main factor for drug crimes?

This is a two-sided equation; on one side there is unemployment and the temptation of money, and on the other side there is a growing consumer market. Even educated and cultured individuals are now part of the drug consumption market. Unfortunately, we have a society of despair and hopelessness that has led people towards drug consumption. When officials say that 10% of the population is addicted and in some provinces this number reaches even more than 10%, it is natural that there is a thriving market that unfortunately also includes many consequences and casualties.

You mentioned that at least 10% of the population are addicted. Considering the country’s population, can we estimate the number of addicts to be 8 million people?

Of course, addiction is not something that can easily be measured by statistics. Someone who is addicted does not say “I am addicted” because not only is it socially frowned upon, but the consequences for it are high in our country. As a result, many statistics in this area have to be estimated. Our statistics – all of which have been announced by official sources – range from 1.2 million to 7 or 8 million people. But what is clear is that there is a large population seeking drugs, and as a result, this market is in circulation.

Dear Mr. Ahmadi, one of the fundamental disagreements is the debate over alternative punishment. As a lawyer, what alternative punishment do you suggest instead of execution for drug-related crimes?

Let us first see who the smuggler is, what is the punishment, and then decide what punishment should be imposed.

90% of smugglers who get caught in Iran are what we call “small fish” who, if they find a job (even one that pays 20-30 thousand tomans a day), I can say with certainty that they will not turn back to this line of work. The main smugglers, or as Mr. Ahmadinejad calls them, the “smuggler brothers” who don’t get caught, have a support system and definitely know how to escape. I’m not saying 7 or 8 million, but if we also consider 2 million addicts, well, they are consumers. Why is it that despite the executions that take place and people see and hear about, the situation not only remains the same but also gets worse day by day? This issue clearly shows that the main smugglers are not getting caught. The reason why they are not getting caught is not mentioned in this article. My point is that they are small fish and no matter how much we eliminate

The next issue is what is the basis of punishment? Punishment has two aspects: the first aspect is the punishment of the criminal (or the well-known proverb, “whoever eats watermelon must also endure the shaking of their legs”), and the second aspect is the punishment of society. A society that has been harmed by a crime must find relief after the criminal is caught. But we see that this is not the outcome. One day, Mr. Khalkhali said, “If you let go of my hand, within three months, I will remove the seeds of drugs from Iran!” These kinds of statements are still searchable and accessible! They let go of his hand, set up gallows and execution ropes in every corner and alley, and executed many people in one or two-minute trials. But what was the result?! Our population has increased from about 36 million to about 80 million, but how many drug addicts do we have now compared to the estimated 300,000

Mr. Mohammad Falah was the head of the Anti-Drug Task Force for nearly 20 years and held a position equivalent to a government deputy. When he resigned from this position, he was interviewed and stated that if we had acted on his advice at the time, we would not be witnessing these events now. Mr. Falah had previously stated in the interview that the anti-drug plan has failed; we are currently implementing a plan that was considered a failed plan in countries where it was previously implemented 50 years ago. In other words, we are still pursuing a plan with intensity and severity that was proven ineffective 70 years ago!

Let’s go back to your question about what alternative punishment we should have. Our laws in this regard are very strict. Possession and storage of some drugs up to 30 grams, equivalent to the size of a palm, is punishable by death. Therefore, we should only consider harsh punishments for specific cases. We should only consider execution in cases where a specific crime has been committed or when a crime is accompanied by the use of weapons. If it is only a case of drug possession, execution should not be considered.

In lighter crimes, prison should be eliminated because, for example, if a six-month or one-year sentence is issued, the person will be eligible for various pardons and clemencies and will ultimately only spend 2 to 3 months in prison. However, the situation of prisons is such that a chicken thief becomes a camel thief! In such cases, alternative punishments such as community service or cultural activities can be considered. Or we can impose educational punishments; we can suspend a one-year prison sentence and say that in the next 6 months, this person must obtain their high school diploma or take the university entrance exam and be accepted. There are many such punishments that a judge can impose based on the individual’s character, circumstances, and type of crime. Alternative punishments can be economic, cultural, service-related, or suspended prison sentences that hang over a person’s head for a long time and prevent them from committing the crime again.

In your opinion, why did intensifying punishments in this regard not have any effect?

My main argument is that harsher punishments have never prevented crime in any country. 90% of criminals, with full knowledge of the consequences of their actions, still engage in criminal activities. Does someone who is carrying 5 kilograms of opium, 30 grams of heroin, or crystal meth not know that they will be executed if caught?! Now that they know, why do they still choose to engage in these actions?! We must address the root causes. On the other hand, when they see that after committing a crime, they are pursued and convicted, they can downplay their conviction and seek refuge from danger, which leads them towards committing more crimes.

Various statistics are presented regarding the number of prisoners related to drug offenses. However, the conditions indicate an excessive population of these prisoners. Which ones are reliable?

See, we have 250,000 – and sometimes more – prisoners, of which nearly 70% are related to drug crimes. Consider the large cost of keeping suspects and convicts of drug crimes. We have a court called the Revolutionary Court, which despite 38 years passing since the revolution, has increased its branches day by day and 80% of its activities are related to drug crimes. In terms of execution statistics in the world, we are second after China in proportion to our population. 70% of our executions are related to drug crimes. Of course, the number of death sentences (retribution) issued for murder is also high, but considering that 60 to 70% of these cases are closed with the forgiveness of the victim’s family and the person is not executed, the number of executions in this area is low. Therefore, as I mentioned, the majority of our executions are related to drug crimes.

The result of the heartbreaking story of struggling with drugs and its outcome is a sad defeat; overcrowded prisons, a more addicted population, and numerous executions that are condemned by human rights organizations. The situation becomes even worse when our prisoners (excluding political prisoners) never fully serve the sentences imposed on them.

What is your perspective on prisoners not serving their full sentences?

Unfortunately, in Iran, we do not enforce punishments strictly – except in cases of security – we issue the sentence but it is not executed properly. Sometimes, you may read in the newspapers that a thief with 20 or even 50 previous records of car and house theft has committed a new crime. The question here is, if a person’s record is so bad and they have been arrested 20 times, what do they do when they are released from prison? In fact, these kinds of individuals easily evade punishment in various ways, such as using money or power to escape the consequences of their actions.

As I mentioned before, the main criminals who are not arrested and the secondary criminals, even if they do not receive the death penalty, are released after a while in various ways. We must be firm and decisive in carrying out our punishments. If 5 years of imprisonment is considered (except for cases where conditional release or special amnesty applies to individuals), this 5-year period must be fully served. In other countries, even the day and time of sentences are observed. But unfortunately, we do not see such cases in our country and for this reason, the effectiveness of prison punishment has also been lost.

“In addition, we must not forget the issue of kilo laws. In this revolutionary court, we had a judge who would sentence people to 900 and 1200 years in prison! One day, I asked him on what basis he would issue a 900-year prison sentence!? Only Noah had such a long lifespan, and currently, if someone lives to be 70 years old, they have lived a long life. He said, “I issue these sentences to prevent your lawyers from finding loopholes! If your client receives a sentence of 3 or 4 years, you request clemency and they are eligible for it. But I give sentences in a way that your client must serve at least one-third of their sentence! And of course, one must ask, are our clients expected to live for 300 years to serve one-third of their sentence!?”

What is your opinion about the forced labor camps that officials have recently been talking more about? How far is this idea from being put into action?

This is a failed idea; whether in our own country, communist countries, or Nazi Germany. In the past, we had imprisonment with hard labor in our laws. Hard labor cannot solve this issue and only makes the situation worse. Camps, which also require high costs to establish, will not be any different from prisons. And we must consider, what will be the outcome? We must not forget that when you put suspects and criminals together, there will be no positive outcome. Imagine a person with a small illness; if you throw them into a contaminated environment, they will become a pure patient.

Of course, in some prisons in our country, we have labor camps where prisoners are engaged in work; for example, they sew clothes or make bags and shoes. They also send a small portion of their income to their families. But I am against forced labor camps because it has a bad history on a global and historical level.

Aside from the issue of execution, some believe that the current law has many flaws; such as when a major smuggler with suspicious financial transactions is not found with even a gram of drugs, the current law does not have any provisions for dealing with them. What is your opinion on this matter?

This issue exists all over the world and is not only related to drugs. This problem also exists in the arms trade. The issue is related to the black market. But one of the ways to limit and block the activities of major smugglers is to have a regulated and transparent banking system and for regulatory bodies to monitor the inflow and outflow of money in accounts. Keep in mind that in many countries, you cannot easily and suddenly deposit a large amount of cash into your bank account, but unfortunately in Iran, you can easily take one or two billion tomans to the bank with a bag and deposit it into your account! The only supervision in our country is to check for counterfeit bills or checks!

As a final question, please explain how, despite all the strict laws, the market for glass production in home workshops (known as kitchens) and its consumption has increased so much in recent years in the country?

The reason is that people do not have another job, so this act has become a source of income.

One of my sisters, a young woman, was a student who had a child. She was arrested twice on the same charge and was ultimately executed a few weeks ago. The first time she was arrested, we helped her and she was released. The second time she was taken, I asked her why she went back to this job again? In response, she said, well, what else was I supposed to do? If I didn’t do this, I would have to turn to prostitution! Of course, I do not condone this behavior, but I want to say that the reasons are what lead to these issues.

People who have kitchens in Iran, in inappropriate places and with the lowest quality materials, produce this addictive substance. For example, places that are discovered under the name of kitchen around Tehran, like Shahriar, are just a corner of a chicken or cow farm! In the past and during our struggles, they used to say that the lifespan of a chicken is six months, but today in Iran, it must be said that the lifespan of a glass consumer is six months!

As a result, the drugs produced in Iran are not of good quality and do not meet the necessary chemical and medical standards. They are a low-grade and dangerous substance produced in workshops that harm the mind and soul. The statistics of domestic murders and violence clearly show the severity of this issue.

Thank you for the opportunity that you have given us in the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh”.