If you get arrested, the judicial system of no country will easily overlook your mistake. Even if you are detained as a citizen of another country, you will not easily be deported to your home country. The threat of long-term imprisonment and even harsher punishments will always loom over you; we are talking about smuggling and transportation of drugs. Possessing drugs is almost always considered as evidence of a crime, almost everywhere. Proving that the drugs you are carrying do not belong to you is often impossible.

In Britain and Wales, drug-related crimes are divided into three categories: B, A, and C. The first category is related to the trafficking of heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy, with the maximum penalty prescribed by law being life imprisonment, but sentences for these crimes usually range from three years and six months to sixteen years. The second category is related to the trafficking of cannabis, with the maximum penalty being fourteen years in prison and an unlimited fine, and sentences for these crimes have varied from twelve weeks to ten years. The third category is related to the trafficking of other types of drugs, with sentences determined by the court, with a maximum penalty of unlimited fines and up to four years in prison, with sentences in this category also ranging up to eight years in prison.

These regulations are issued based on the individual’s role in the process of trafficking; for example, for carrying one kilogram of heroin, cocaine, and approximately 2000 ecstasy pills and 25000 pieces of LSD, or 40 kilograms of hashish, depending on whether the detained individual was only a carrier of the substances or also played a role in their trade, the prison sentence can vary between 6 to 11 years. For carrying and trafficking more than 5 kilograms of heroin and cocaine, 10000 ecstasy pills, 250000 pieces of LSD, and 200 kilograms of hashish, and considering the role of the arrested individual, a sentence between 8 to 14 years of imprisonment will be issued. (1)

In the Federal laws of the United States (state laws are not necessarily consistent with federal laws), the minimum punishment for carrying between 5.0 to 5 kilograms of cocaine and/or between 1.0 to 1 kilogram of heroin is 5 years, and the maximum is 40 years in prison. Trafficking more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than 1 kilogram of heroin will result in a minimum punishment of 10 years in prison, while the maximum punishment for these cases is life imprisonment. All of this applies if the criminal is caught for the first time. In subsequent cases, the punishments will be even more severe.

European countries have also considered imprisonment for several months for drug-related crimes and in very serious cases, such as leading drug cartels, they have considered life imprisonment (Cyprus). (3)

But which countries in the world impose the death penalty for such crimes?

Among the countries of the world, 32 countries have considered the death penalty for such crimes, and among them, only China, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam strongly enforce this punishment. Other countries have either rarely sentenced individuals involved in drug trafficking to death, or this punishment only exists symbolically in their criminal laws. Among Iran’s neighboring countries, only Pakistan and Iraq have considered the death penalty for drug trafficking, but the former does not have a strong commitment to enforcing this punishment and there is not enough data available for Iraq.

With this background, it is not a bad idea to take a look at the record of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this regard.

The history of executing drug smugglers in Iran dates back to the year 1959 AD. However, this law was only enforced for repeat offenders. From 1969, the amount of smuggled drugs was also taken into consideration when determining the punishment. (5) Anti-drug laws, which were later reviewed on November 8, 1997, allowed for immediate issuance of death sentences. Crimes such as cultivation of cocaine, hashish, and opium for the purpose of producing drugs were also added to the list of previous offenses, including export, import, production, sale, and distribution. In addition, the consumption of marijuana or bhang was also included in the list of criminal acts. With the severity of these punishments, Article 179 of the Iranian Penal Code also considers drinking alcohol three times after having already received 80 lashes as a punishable offense by death. (6)

As mentioned, only six countries among the countries committed to implementing the death penalty for drug traffickers are present, among which Singapore and Malaysia have significantly reduced their execution rates in recent years. Vietnam has also begun to make fundamental changes in its policies in this regard. There is evidence that, based on them, the number of executions of traffickers in China has also decreased in parallel with the expansion of the strategic guideline for reducing execution rates.

But concerns about Iran are still very high. In 2008, Iran executed at least 96 people in connection with such crimes. These cases increased significantly in 2009 and reached a total of 172 people (7). Apart from the rate of executions, the handling of these cases has also posed serious challenges in some countries, including Iran, in human rights forums. Iran is one of the countries that reviews drug crimes in revolutionary courts. These courts, due to their flawed administrative nature and incorrect judicial processes, always have the potential to bring about deadly consequences for the defendants. The importance of this issue becomes apparent when we know that 99% of cases referred to revolutionary courts are related to drug crimes (8).

But are the concerns of human rights organizations in this regard limited to only two recent cases?

The answer is negative. Another concern is related to the number of people executed in the mentioned countries, who are not considered citizens of these countries legally and legally. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Singapore are among these countries. In addition, Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea are also facing public execution charges.

Despite this, Iran has more transparent policies regarding executions compared to other countries such as China, and it publicly announces cases of execution through state and local media. Although hiding the identity of the victims in most cases prevents human rights activists from obtaining accurate statistics, it does not prevent doubts about Iran’s ranking among the top countries in terms of executions, with a large portion of them being related to drug offenders. According to some statistics, the Islamic Republic has executed more than 10,000 people since the formation of the Islamic Revolution.

Does the execution of drug traffickers comply with human rights principles or not?

Nowadays, the implementation of the death penalty for crimes related to drug trafficking has raised many concerns in human rights circles. From the perspective of human rights organizations, the enforcement of this punishment is a gross violation of international human rights laws. In recent years, the restriction of carrying out death sentences has been a major issue in many human rights treaties. The reason for the necessity of imposing these restrictions by independent human rights activists and monitors has been clearly explained. One of the most important of these restrictions is seen in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This article states that the death penalty can only be carried out for crimes that are considered the most serious under the Covenant.

However, the “most serious crimes” that can be punished by execution have already been defined by United Nations-affiliated bodies. (10) So why is it necessary to mention this in the body of this article? Because it is important for the reader to know that the death penalty is only limited to crimes that have extremely severe and dangerous consequences. This definition has also been approved by the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee and independent experts monitoring and interpreting the mentioned covenant have also confirmed that drug-related crimes are not classified as serious crimes. This committee has consistently criticized countries that carry out executions for a wide range of crimes without considering the definition of serious crimes in Article 6 of the covenant. These criticisms have in the past included many countries such as Egypt, India, Iran, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, and Thailand, as well as countries that implement the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

This committee has also emphasized in its 2005 report on Thailand and its 2007 report on Sudan that drug trafficking is not considered a serious crime. Therefore, the execution of criminals in this field is seen as a clear violation of international human rights laws. This view is also evident in the 2009 position of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. According to him, drug-related crimes do not fall under the definition of “most serious crimes.” (11)

What has been the result of such investigations?

Many human rights activists, academic forums, and organizations affiliated with the United Nations have unanimously agreed that executing drug traffickers is a violation of international laws. Despite this, as it has been mentioned, many countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, continue to violate international human rights laws through this practice.

With this background, it is not bad to know that among the officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran, there have recently been whispers for the abolition of execution in this area in particular. However, certainly the abolition and amendment of the mentioned law requires finding alternative solutions in terms of legal rights or developing necessary infrastructures for the detention and rehabilitation of criminals. While it is planned to be put to a re-vote in the 2016 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council to abolish the death penalty for drug traffickers, it seems that Iranian officials, neighboring Afghanistan and the staggering costs resulting from the distribution and consumption of drugs in their country, are using them as reasons to oppose the execution of drug traffickers.

It will be time that will show how serious the determination of the Islamic Republic is in this regard. But starting the journey is not impossible. The best example in this regard has been Taiwan, which has transformed from an executioner country in the 1990s to a country that suspends the death penalty for crimes mentioned in the early 21st century.

Sources:

This text refers to the official guidelines for sentencing individuals who have committed drug offenses, created by the Sentencing Council and copyrighted by the Crown in 2012.

2 – United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Chart1.

3-European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction

4 – International Harm Reduction Association Patrick Gallahue and Rick Lines © 2010 International Harm Reduction Association ISBN 978-0-9557754-9-9

The text is a reference to a book or publication titled “International Harm Reduction Association” written by Patrick Gallahue and Rick Lines in 2010. The book has an ISBN number of 978-0-9557754-9-9.

The Death Penalty: No Solution to Illicit Drugs op. cit. p. 26.

The FIDH report on Iran’s use of the death penalty as a policy of state terror, cited on page 12.

7 – Amnesty International (26 August 2009) Thailand carries out first executions in six years.

The UK Home Office Country of Origin Information Report – Iran op. cit. p. 23.

The US Department of State published the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on 1 March 2010. This report, also known as the 2010 INCSR, includes statistics provided by the Iranian government.

10 – ECOSOC (25 May 1984) Implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty. Resolution 1984/50

This text refers to a resolution passed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on May 25, 1984. The resolution focuses on the implementation of safeguards to protect the rights of individuals who are facing the death penalty. The resolution is numbered 1984/50.

The report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was presented to the UN Human Rights Council on 14 January 2009. It is identified as document number A/HRC/10/44 and contains information on paragraph 66.