The death penalty for drug offences
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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 18, 2007NigeriaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. NIGERIAN BEHEADED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
a Nigerian man was executed by sword in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The man, identified as Omar, was
FEBRUARY 7, 2007IraqDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. TWO IRAQIS EXECUTED FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
the Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded two Iraqi men, Jabbar Karim Saeed Abu Alya and Ali Hamza
FEBRUARY 7, 2007VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM . THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
a Vietnamese court sentenced three people to death and jailed 52 others for running a huge heroin
- JANUARY 31, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Pakistani man for drug smuggling, local media reported.
Saudi Arabia executed a Pakistani man for drug smuggling, local media reported.
- JANUARY 31, 2007DEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA. 3 EXECUTED FOR DRUGS, ROBBERY AND MURDER
Saudi Arabia executed two Saudis and a Pakistani man for drug smuggling, armed robbery and murder, local media reported.
- JANUARY 29, 2007VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM SENTENCES 8 DRUG TRAFFICKERS, PRODUCERS TO DEATH
a Vietnamese court handed down eight death sentences and 13 life imprisonment on local people on drugs charges. The People's Court of northern Son La province passed the death sentences on Trinh Nguyen
JANUARY 26, 2007NigeriaDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE EXECUTES MEN FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
Singapore has executed two African men for drug smuggling after rejecting appeals for clemency by Nigeria's president, the UN and rights groups. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, 21, of Nigeria, and 35-year-old Okeke Nelson Malachy, a stateless African, were hanged
- JANUARY 22, 2007VietnamDEATH PENALTY
NEW MOM ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY IN VIETNAM
the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City handed death penalties for five leaders of a large drug gang.
- JANUARY 22, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran has publicly hanged a man convicted of drug trafficking.
Iran has publicly hanged a man convicted of drug trafficking.
- JANUARY 18, 2007DEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA. TWO PAKISTANIS, TWO SAUDIS BEHEADED
- JANUARY 17, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed two pakistani men for possessing, selling and smuggling drugs, the interior ministry said.
Saudi Arabia executed two pakistani men for possessing, selling and smuggling drugs, the interior ministry said.
- JANUARY 17, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURT SENTENCES 1 JAPANESE, 2 CHINESE TO DEATH IN DRUGS CASE
a Chinese court sentenced a Japanese man and his two Chinese accomplices to death for attempting to smuggle drugs from China to Japan...
- JANUARY 14, 2007KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
a tribunal in Kuwait sentenced Talal Al-Sabh...
a tribunal in Kuwait sentenced Talal Al-Sabh...
JANUARY 14, 2007BahrainDEATH PENALTYDEATH PENALTY STAYS FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IN BAHRAIN
Bahrain is to keep the death penalty for drug traffickers. The Shura Council voted overwhelmingly in favour
JANUARY 9, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTYFOUR EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IN SOUTH CHINA
four people were executed for drug trafficking in Yulin, a city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Chen Lizhen was one of four people convicted of trafficking 65 kilograms of heroin from
- JANUARY 3, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN HANGS MAN CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
Iran hanged a man convicted of drug trafficking in a prison in the central city of Isfahan, the state news agency IRNA reported.
- JANUARY 1, 2007VietnamDEATH PENALTY
Vietnam applies the death penalty for 29 different crimes.
Vietnam applies the death penalty for 29 different crimes.
- JANUARY 1, 2007SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
Capital crimes are: murder, treason, offences against the President, illegal possession of arms, kidnapping and causing an innocent person to be executed by bearing false witness.
Capital crimes are: murder, treason, offences against the President, illegal possession of arms, kidnapping and causing an innocent person to be executed by bearing false witness.
- JANUARY 1, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder...
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder, apostasy, rape, drug trafficking, highway robbery, sabotage and armed robbery.
- JANUARY 1, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes...
The death penalty is imposed for several crimes...
- JANUARY 1, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A revised Criminal Procedure Law came into force in January 1997
A revised Criminal Procedure Law came into force in January 1997
- JANUARY 1, 2007IraqDEATH PENALTY
On April 9, 2003 Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime was overthrown by a US-led military coalition.
On April 9, 2003 Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime was overthrown by a US-led military coalition.
- JANUARY 1, 2007BruneiDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for murder, unlawful possession of firearms and explosives
The death penalty is mandatory for murder, unlawful possession of firearms and explosives
- JANUARY 1, 2007LaosDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty in Laos is applied in cases of treason, murder and rape
The death penalty in Laos is applied in cases of treason, murder and rape
- DECEMBER 26, 2006VietnamDEATH PENALTY
THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN VIETNAM FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
a court in northern Vietnam sentenced three people to death for drug trafficking, with a police officer getting a life sentence.
- DECEMBER 24, 2006IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. THREE MEN PUBLICLY HANGED IN FRONT OF CHEERING CROWDS
Iran publicly hanged three men convicted of drug trafficking and armed robbery in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern Sistan-e Baluchestan province, the ISNA news agency reported.
- DECEMBER 19, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
DRUG KINGPIN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SOUTH CHINA
Chen Bingxi, a notorious drug kingpin in south China...
- DECEMBER 15, 2006VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM CONDEMNS SIXHEROIN TRAFFICKERS TO DEATH
a court in Hanoi, Vietnam...
DECEMBER 6, 2006Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA BEHEADS A PAKISTANI AND HIS DAUGHTER CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
NOVEMBER 26, 2006Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI EXECUTES PAKISTANI, NIGERIAN OVER DRUGS
Saudi Arabia executed a Pakistani