Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli

IRAN AGAINST ABOLITION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR DRUG SMUGGLERS

March 19, 2014: Minister of Interior Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Iran is against abolishing the death penalty for drugs smugglers, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Rahmani Fazli, who represented Iran at the 57th session of the Commission of Narcotic Drugs in Austria's capital Vienna from March 13-14, said Iran is also opposed to legalising various kinds of narcotic drugs.
"We also opposed a statement issued by some European states on the abolition of capital punishment for drugs smugglers," the minister said.
Smugglers are not just involved in drug trafficking but in armed struggle, illegal border crossing, money laundering, rape, murder and terrorist activities, he said.
Rahmani Fazli said the final decision on the abolition of death penalty for drug smugglers will be made at the Commission of Narcotic Drugs meeting in 2016. (Sources: BERNAMA, 19/03/2014)