IRAQ: SUSPECTED DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO DEATH

An Iraqi court on July 25, 2023 issued the death sentence for a suspected drug dealer, reported state media.
“A death sentence was issued for a criminal after he was caught in the possession of 39 bundles of narcotic substances (captagon pills) which he was intending to trade,” Iraqi state media cited the Rusafa criminal court as saying.
The suspect was being sentenced in accordance with Article 27 of the Iraqi Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law, the statement added.
The Article states that any suspect charged with exporting, importing, producing, or planting narcotic substances shall be sentenced to either death or to life imprisonment.
In June, an Iraqi court sentenced eight people, including two of foreign nationalities, to death accused of being in possession of narcotics.
The rate of drug addicts and dealers has been on an alarming rise in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the Iraqi government to curb the phenomenon.
Iraqi security forces on July 24 announced seizing around one million captagon pills in the capital Baghdad, in addition to arresting more than 30 suspects on drug-related charges in separate operations.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.