Iran sentences four to death over bootleg alcohol that killed seventeen

Shafaq News/ Iranian authorities have sentenced four individuals accused of selling poisonous alcoholic beverages that killed seventeen people last year.

The deadly incident occurred in June 2023 when over 80 residents of Islamabad and Hesarak in Karaj were severely poisoned after consuming counterfeit alcoholic drinks. A total of seventeen people died.

Hossein Fazli Harikandi, Chief Justice of Alborz Province, said that eleven individuals were arrested following a year-long judicial investigation.

Four defendants received the capital penalty, while seven others faced various prison charges for their proven involvement in the crime.

The death penalty cases have been referred to the Supreme Court.

Due to the ban on purchasing and selling alcoholic beverages, many citizens resort to unregulated, homemade concoctions that can prove fatal.

Iran reported 644 alcohol poisoning deaths across Iran in 2022.

Homayoun Najafabadi, a lawmaker, had previously said that even illegal alcohol consumption should meet safety standards to prevent loss of life.

Under Iran's law, buying or selling alcoholic drinks is criminalized and punishable by six months to one year imprisonment, lashes, and fines.