Laos closed its National Assembly after passing a hotly...

Laos closed its National Assembly after passing a hotly debated amendment to the country´s 1990 criminal code that introduced the death penalty for drug trafficking. The amended law included capital punishment for producers, distributors, smugglers and anyone found in possession of heroin, as well as traffickers of amphetamines and methamphetamines. A death sentence would be assured to those found in possession of more than 500 grams of heroin, or more than three kilograms of methamphetamines. Before the amendments prison terms for drug offenders ranged from life to ten years, depending on the amount found in possession. Laos is the world´s third-largest producer of opium and has been used as a production base for methamphetamines. The government has vowed to turn the country into a "drug-free zone" by the year 2015.