Iran continues to execute drug offenders at a torrid pace. Around 500 went to the gallows in 2011, hundreds more last year, and 24 more so far this year.
A British grandmother caught smuggling 10 pounds of cocaine into the Indonesian resort of Bali has been sentenced to death -- even though prosecutors asked only for 15 years. The court said her actions hurt Bali's reputation as a tourist destination.
Hard-line Singapore has announced it is modifying its mandatory death sentence for drug traffickers. It's just a small change, but it may save a few lives, and serve as a signal for other drug death penalty states.
public mass execution in Iran, 2008 (ncr-iran.org)
Iran executed nearly 500 people for drug crimes last year, according to a new report from Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO. Drug executions made up more than 70% of all executions in the Islamic Republic.
Afghan police guard the Iranian Embassy during January 2011 protests against Iranian executions of Afghans (wikimedia.org
Iran has already executed more than 125 people for drug trafficking so far this year, and more than 300 await the hangman. It claims that's the only way to stop the flow of drugs destined for Europe.
Iran display, UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna 2008