ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Baghdad court on Monday issued death sentences for two people charged with dealing narcotics, amid a spike in strict sentences for drug-related offenses in Iraq.
The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said that in addition to the two suspects, around 100 bags containing over 13 kilograms of hashish were confiscated in a house in southern Baghdad “used for storing narcotic substances.”
The penalties by the Karkh criminal court were handed in accordance with Article 27 of the Iraqi Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law, the statement added.
The Article states that any individual charged with exporting, importing, producing, or planting narcotic substances shall be either sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
Drug dealing and usage in Iraq is rising at an alarming rate, despite strict governmental measures to combat the phenomenon.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in July 2023 ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat the growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges, according to Baghdad, and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized.
Iraq’s judiciary has handed down strict sentences for drug-related crime, including 140 death sentences and 500 life imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law) sentences for smugglers and dealers since the start of 2023, according to official data from the interior ministry.
The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said that in addition to the two suspects, around 100 bags containing over 13 kilograms of hashish were confiscated in a house in southern Baghdad “used for storing narcotic substances.”
The penalties by the Karkh criminal court were handed in accordance with Article 27 of the Iraqi Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law, the statement added.
The Article states that any individual charged with exporting, importing, producing, or planting narcotic substances shall be either sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
Drug dealing and usage in Iraq is rising at an alarming rate, despite strict governmental measures to combat the phenomenon.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in July 2023 ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat the growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges, according to Baghdad, and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized.
Iraq’s judiciary has handed down strict sentences for drug-related crime, including 140 death sentences and 500 life imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law) sentences for smugglers and dealers since the start of 2023, according to official data from the interior ministry.
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