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
SEPTEMBER 5, 2022Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: PRESIDENT INFORMS THE SUPREME COURT THAT HE WILL NOT SIGN THE DEATH SENTENCES
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 31 August 2022 informed the Supreme Court through the Attorney General that he will not sign the implementation of the death penalty.
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2022IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Massoud Ghaed-Rahmati executed in Khorramabad on September 3
SEPTEMBER 1, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRIVING DRUG CART AT POLICE
Pham Van Tang, 32 years old, was sentenced to death on 26 August 2022 in Vietnam for driving a motorbike carrying 9 kg of drugs and running at police while under siege in Vu Quang district.
AUGUST 20, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Zahedan on August 20
One, Omid Alizahi, was a juvenile offender
AUGUST 18, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 11 prisoners executed in Arak prison
On August 14, 17, and 18, 2022
AUGUST 14, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Vahid Rahmani and Mostafa Rasoulzadeh executed in Shiraz on August 14
AUGUST 14, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 inmates executed in Arak Prison on August 14
Mohammad Mashhadolkoobeh, Vahid Mousakhani, Hossein Abadi and 1 unknown
AUGUST 6, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: ANOTHER DOUBLE DAWN HANGING CARRIED OUT
Two more death row inmates were hanged at dawn on 5 August 2022 for drug trafficking in a double execution at Singapore's Changi Prison, after the inmates waited 10 hours until past midnight to learn if their appeal in court would succeed.
AUGUST 6, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Ghareh Lar and Mojtaba Ramin executed in Qom
On August 1 and 6
- JULY 31, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: FIVE MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SMUGGLING DRUGS FROM HCMC TO PHILIPPINES
Five men were all sentenced to death on 27 July 2022 in HCMC (Vietnam) for transporting almost 300 kg of methamphetamine to the Philippines in 2019.
- JULY 24, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: FIFTH EXECUTION IN UNDER FOUR MONTHS CARRIED OUT
Nazeri bin Lajim, who was convicted of drug trafficking five years ago, has been hanged in Singapore’s Changi Prison.
JULY 23, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shokat Shehbakhsh executed in Zahedan on July 23
JULY 19, 2022BahrainDEATH PENALTYBAHREIN: MAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A Bahraini was sentenced to death by the High Criminal Court on 19 July 2022 for drug trafficking across regional waters.
JULY 9, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abolfazl Rahmani and Mehrollah Rigi executed in Qom on July 9
JULY 7, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS HANGED DESPITE OPPOSITION
Two drug traffickers were hanged in Singapore on 7 July 2022, bringing the number of executions this year in the city-state to four despite growing calls to abolish its death penalty.
JUNE 11, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Touraj Keshavarz and Ali Samandarnejad executed in Zanjan on June 11
JUNE 6, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 11 men and 1 woman executed in Zahedan Prison on June 6, 2022
- MAY 24, 2022DEATH PENALTY
DEATH PENALTY 2021: STATE-SANCTIONED KILLINGS RISE AS EXECUTIONS SPIKE IN IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA
2021 saw a worrying rise in executions and death sentences as some of the world’s most prolific executioners returned to business as usual and courts were unshackled from Covid-19 restrictions, Amnesty International said on 24 May 2022 in its annual revie
MAY 8, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Four men executed in Shiraz on May 8
Abbas Pajmordeh, Ali Pajmordeh, Mohammad Gholamhosseini and Ali Hossein Pahan
MAY 4, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO CHINESE GET DEATH FOR METH PRODUCTION
A court in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum sentenced two Chinese men to death on 16 April 2022 for running an operation producing over 11kg of methamphetamine.
- MAY 1, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: MALAYSIAN NAGAENTHRAN EXECUTED ON DRUGS CHARGES
Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian with learning disabilities who was convicted of drug trafficking in 2010 and whose case attracted global attention, has been executed in Singapore’s Changi prison.
- APRIL 12, 2022United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
ISRAELI ON UAE DEATH ROW WON'T BE EXECUTED, OFFICIAL SAYS
Fida Kiwan, the Israeli woman sentenced to death for drug smuggling in the United Arab Emirates will not be executed but will serve a prison sentence instead, a senior Israeli official said on 5 April 2022.
APRIL 3, 2022BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING 0.5 KG OF HEROIN
A court in Bangladesh on 31 March 2022 sentenced a woman caught with a 0.5 kg of heroin in Gaibandha in 2018 to death in a narcotics case.
MARCH 30, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: DRUG TRAFFICKER HANGED IN RESUMPTION OF EXECUTIONS
A Singaporean man on death row for drug trafficking was hanged on 30 March 2022 in the first execution in the city-state in over two years, rights activists said.
- MARCH 21, 2022DEATH PENALTY
DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG OFFENCES: GLOBAL OVERVIEW 2021
In 2021, 35 countries retain the death penalty for a range of drug offences, according to “The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2021” Report (Harm Reduction International).
MARCH 16, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: COURT REJECTS APPEALS BY THREE MEN ON DEATH ROW
A Singapore court on 16 March 2022 rejected appeals by three men sentenced to death for drugs offences despite criticism from the United Nations and rights campaigners.
MARCH 16, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hamid Rastegar and Gholamreza Paki executed in Isfahan on March 16
- MARCH 6, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS STILL SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY IN LATEST MHA SURVEY
The majority of Singapore residents still support the death penalty, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on 3 March 2022, citing preliminary findings from a survey conducted last year.
FEBRUARY 17, 2022KuwaitDEATH PENALTYKUWAIT: INDIAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A Kuwaiti criminal court had sentenced an Indian expatriate to death on charges of dealing in illicit drugs, a local newspaper reported on 16 February 2022.
- FEBRUARY 8, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: MALAYSIAN WHO DELIVERED BAG OF HEROIN GIVEN DEATH PENALTY, S'POREAN RECIPIENT GETS LIFE TERM
A Malaysian who rode his motorcycle into Singapore to deliver a bag containing more than 900g of a powdery substance was sentenced to death on 4 February 2022 for drug trafficking.