Court System
In Iran, laws are created by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, also known as the Parliament of Iran (Majlis). They must be verified by the Guardian Council and signed by the President of Iran. The laws must be consistent with Sharia, although many laws are derived from pre-revolution civil law, rather than Sharia. For example, while almost 80% of Iranian executions are for drug traffickers, drug trafficking laws are part of Iranian civil law, not Sharia law.
There are three types of criminal courts. Criminal courts of first instance try serious crimes, hadd crimes, and qesas crimes, such as murder, rape, and theft. These courts can issue death sentences. Criminal courts of second instance try misdemeanors and contraventions. The Islamic Revolutionary Courts try offenses aimed against the state and its associated institutions. Crimes include smuggling (e.g. of drugs or weapons), terrorism, counterfeiting, and treason. The revolutionary courts can also issue death sentences.
In most cases (about 90%), executions are carried out in a provincial prison in the province where the crime took place. In serious cases, the criminal is publicly executed at the spot the crime was committed. Many serious criminals or drug-related criminals are sent to larger, more centralized prisons, such as Evin and Gohardasht Prisons in Tehran and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.
A death sentence can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Cassation of Iran, which can affirm or deny the sentence. If the Supreme Court of Cassation finds irregularities, it can send the case to a lower court for a retrial. There is no limit on the number of times that a defendant may appeal, but if guilt is established the Court will affirm the sentence. In murder and rape cases, the perpetrator can ask for forgiveness from the victim's family; in other cases, the perpetrator can ask for clemency from the "Amnesty and Pardons Commission" of Iran to reduce their sentences.
In 2011, an amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act ended the official right of appeal for repeat drug offenders. Instead, they can directly appeal to the Prosecutor General of Iran. This change was made because the regular appeals courts were overloaded and could not carry out their work quickly due to a heavy volume of drug cases.
Often execution is delayed until the person completes a prison sentence. Some murder and rape cases are delayed for five years in order to maximize the possibility of forgiveness and reaching a settlement.
In Iran (as in other Muslim countries), there are two types of sentences resulting in death. The first is a "qesas-e-nafs" (retribution) sentence, when a murder victim's family refuses to forgive a murderer (see "Qesas crimes" below). The other type is a regular death sentence, "hokm-e-edam", for crimes such as rape and drug trafficking. These sentences are completely separate in Iranian law, and this has created some confusion in news sources when authorities say that a murder will not result in "execution", but in "qesas".
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In Iran, Capital Crimes
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