TEHERAN - THREE hundred drug traffickers are on death row in Iran, the judiciary said, reflecting Teheran's hard line on narcotics which has added to international concerns over its extensive use of capital punishment.
'For 300 drug-related convicts, including those who were in possession of at least 30g of heroin, execution verdicts have been issued,' Sharq daily quoted a Tehran prosecutor-general as saying on Monday.
Although the list was long it did not contain any big-time traffickers or ringleaders, he said. All the convicts face death by hanging.
Amnesty International says Iran is second only to China for the number of executions, with at least 252 people put to death last year.
As well as drug trafficking, murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by death under Sharia law practised since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran dismisses criticisms of its justice system, saying it is implementing Islamic law and accuses the West of double standards. -- REUTERS
'For 300 drug-related convicts, including those who were in possession of at least 30g of heroin, execution verdicts have been issued,' Sharq daily quoted a Tehran prosecutor-general as saying on Monday.
Although the list was long it did not contain any big-time traffickers or ringleaders, he said. All the convicts face death by hanging.
Amnesty International says Iran is second only to China for the number of executions, with at least 252 people put to death last year.
As well as drug trafficking, murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by death under Sharia law practised since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran dismisses criticisms of its justice system, saying it is implementing Islamic law and accuses the West of double standards. -- REUTERS
