THAILAND TO EXECUTE DRUG CONVICTS IN NARCOTICS CRACKDOWN

Thailand will next month execute a group of drug convicts and publicly
destroy a haul of confiscated narcotics as a dramatic deterrent
against trafficking, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today.

Death sentences handed down to traffickers are normally commuted to
life sentences in Thailand, but after declaring a "war on drugs"
earlier this year Mr Thaksin said the executions, by firing squad,
would now be sped up.

"In April there will be a destruction of confiscated drugs, as well as
executions of some traffickers," he said.

"The justice and public health ministries are coordinating efforts to
speed up both the destruction and execution."

Thamarak Issarangun Na Ayutthaya, the Minister attached to the
premier's office, said the Government would go ahead with the
executions to serve as a public warning of the heavy penalties
associated with drug trafficking.

"We are speeding up the Corrections Department process, there are some
10 drug convicts at the moment who we will execute one by one," he
said.

Execution must take place after royal clemency is rejected for
convicts who have had their death sentence upheld by three courts,
including the Supreme Court.