The death penalty for drug offences
Archive theme
International law restricts the death penalty, where it still exists, to the most serious crimes, and United Nations bodies have made clear more than once that drug offences do not belong to that category. Despite this, some states go on sentencing people to death and executing them for trafficking or possession of narcotics: in certain years these executions are a substantial share of the world total.
This page collects the news on death sentences and executions for drug offences.
Latest news
FEBRUARY 3, 2025IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that the Central Criminal Court has sentenced nine Iraqi drug traffickers to death after convicting them of smuggling and distributing illicit substances across the country, Kurdistan24 reported on January 29, 202
JANUARY 25, 2025SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: MAN EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Singapore carried out on January 23, 2025 the hanging of a convicted drug trafficker.
DECEMBER 31, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: AT LEAST 338 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN 2024
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 338 executions in 2024, sharply up on the 170 recorded in 2023 and the highest number in decades, according to an AFP tally of official reports.
DECEMBER 30, 2024VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HCMC COURT SENTENCES 27 TO DEATH IN DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE
The HCMC People's Court sentenced a Vietnamese drug lord and her 26 subordinates to death on December 27, 2024 for drug trafficking
DECEMBER 23, 2024United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - List of 37 commuted by Biden
DECEMBER 16, 2024VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING 100 KG OF DRUGS
A Vietnamese-Canadian man, along with three accomplices, was sentenced to death on December 16, 2024 for trafficking over 100 kg of drugs into Vietnam.
DECEMBER 5, 2024IndiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: UTTAR PRADESH MAN GIVEN DEATH PENALTY ON DRUG CHARGES
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh to death on charges of drug trafficking, triggering panic and despair among his family members who have pleaded for clemency, PTI reported on December 4, 2024.
NOVEMBER 29, 2024SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE - Iranian-Singaporean Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad executed on November 29
Arrested at 20 for 31 grams of diamorphine
- NOVEMBER 25, 2024PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES GETS INDONESIA TO REPATRIATE A WOMAN ON DEATH ROW FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
Intense and sustained diplomatic work between Indonesia and the Philippines has paved the way for the repatriation of Mary Jane Veloso, who was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of drug trafficking, Asia News reported on November 20, 2024.
NOVEMBER 24, 2024SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE HANGS DRUG TRAFFICKER, THIRD SUCH EXECUTION IN A WEEK
Singapore has carried out its third hanging of a convicted drug trafficker in a week despite appeals for clemency from the United Nations.
NOVEMBER 18, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MORE THAN 100 FOREIGNERS EXECUTED IN 2024
Saudi Arabia has executed more than 100 foreigners this year, indicating a sharp increase which one rights group said was unprecedented, AFP reported on November 17, 2024.
OCTOBER 28, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Javad Ahmadian executed in Ahvaz on October 28
OCTOBER 24, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SEVEN PEOPLE EXECUTED IN ONE DAY
Saudi Arabia executed seven individuals on October 23, 2024, including five for drug trafficking, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
OCTOBER 8, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT SENTENCES THREE DRUG TRAFFICKERS TO DEATH
Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced three drug traffickers to death for their involvement in the trafficking of narcotic substances, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on October 6, 2024.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2024IndonesiaDEATH PENALTYINDONESIA FREES NIGERIAN ON DEATH ROW FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A Nigerian, Emmanuel Ihejirika, previously sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Indonesia, has been released after years in prison.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: AFGHAN NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
According to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, an Afghan national named Abdul Qayyum Shinwari was executed on August 31, 2024 in the city of Mecca.
AUGUST 17, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Shiraz on August 17
Yousef Kazemzadeh, Ali Salimi and Heydar (Haider) Arab
AUGUST 11, 2024SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE HANGS PRISONER IN SECOND EXECUTION IN DAYS
Singapore hanged a 59-year-old man on August 7, 2024 for drug trafficking, authorities said, the second execution in the city-state in less than a week.
AUGUST 5, 2024SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: MAN HANGED FOR TRAFFICKING 36G OF HEROIN
Singapore on August 2, 2024 hanged a convicted drug trafficker, authorities said, in the city-state's second execution this year.
JULY 30, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: PAKISTANI MAN EXECUTED IN HEROINE SMUGGLING
A Pakistani citizen on July 29, 2024 was executed in a heroine smuggling case in Saudi Arabia.
- JUNE 11, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ: 7 DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
An Iraqi court has sentenced seven individuals to death for drug trafficking, including one foreign national. The Central Criminal Court’s decision, announced on June 9, 2024 by the Supreme Judicial Council
JUNE 3, 2024TongaDEATH PENALTYTONGA: LEGISLATORS REJECT DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG CRIMES
A public debate in Parliament this week rejected a suggestion that the death penalty be used to deter drug offenders, RNZ reported on May 31, 2024.
MAY 30, 2024DEATH PENALTYAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL REPORT: DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2023
Executions soared to their highest number in almost a decade in 2023 with a sharp rise across the Middle East, Amnesty International said today as it released its annual report on the global use of the death penalty.
MAY 30, 2024MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: JAPANESE HAS DEATH SENTENCE REDUCED TO 30-YEAR PRISON TERM
Malaysia's top court commuted the death sentence imposed on a Japanese woman for drug trafficking to 30 years in prison on May 29, 2024, following a judicial reform that eliminated mandatory capital punishment for illicit drug trade and several other seri
- MAY 29, 2024BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
BANGLADESH: BOTSWANA NATIONAL GETS DEATH PENALTY IN NARCOTICS CASE
A Dhaka court on May 27, 2024 awarded death penalty to Botswana national Lesedi Molapisi in a narcotics case filled over drug smuggling.
MAY 28, 2024MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: FOUR JOHOREANS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IN SABAH
Four Johoreans have been given the death penalty in Malaysia after they were found guilty of trafficking 34, 282.3 grams of drugs while travelling into Sandakan in 2020, The Star reported on May 9, 2024.
MAY 26, 2024IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Samir Saeedi Rad executed in Qom on May 26
261 executions in Iran in 2024
MAY 20, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: NEARLY 100 DEATH SENTENCES, LIFE SENTENCES IN DRUG TRAFFICKING CRACKDOWN
Nearly 100 individuals – both Iraqi citizens and foreign nationals – were sentenced to death or life imprisonment on drug trafficking charges between 2023 and 2024, a spokesperson to the Interior Ministry said on May 15, 2024.
MAY 15, 2024IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Baghdad court on May 13, 2024 handed a death sentence for a drug dealer of foreign nationality accused of bringing narcotics into the country, state media reported.
- MAY 13, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO SYRIAN NATIONALS EXECUTED FOR SMUGGLING NARCOTICS
Saudi Arabia on May 11, 2024 executed two Syrians over their alleged involvement in drug smuggling within the Kingdom, as the trafficking of narcotics from Syria continues to plague the region.