IRAN SAYS DRUG TRAFFICKERS FACE DEATH SENTENCE

TEHRAN, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Iran, faced with widespread smuggling and abuse
of drugs, reiterated on Wednesday it would execute traffickers under tough
new laws.

Prosecutor General Ayatollah Morteza Moqtadaei said armed smugglers, as
well as traffickers caught in possession of five kg (11 lb) of opium, would
face the death penalty, Iranian television reported.

Smugglers held with 30 grams (1.1 ounce) of heroin or morphine would
receive a death sentence on a second offence under the new laws which took
effect recently, Moqtadaei was quoted as saying.

Iran has executed thousands of drug dealers and traffickers since the 1979
revolution, especially since 1989 when it adopted tough laws with largely
similar death penalty measures.

Analysts said Iran, which has reduced the number of executions for
possession of smaller amounts of drugs in recent years after international
criticism of its laws, appeared to be signalling that the trend would be
reversed.

The new laws include heavier jail terms and fines and Moqtadaei said
growers of hemp and opium poppy would face prison terms of up to five
years, the televison reported. A death sentence could be imposed on the
fourth offence.

He said fines had been increased up to tenfold under the new laws which had
been approved by the Expediency Council, a powerful body of about two dozen
officials which can legislate on important matters above parliament.

Drug use is also a crime in Iran, but Moqtadaei said under the new laws
addicts who sought rehabilitation and stopped using drugs would not be
prosecuted.

Newspapers have welcomed the measure as a reform, saying many drug addicts
had earlier avoided seeking treatment for fear of being denounced by health
authorities.

The country of 60 million has an estimated 1.2 million addicts, according
to official figures.

Iran is also a key transit route for drugs smuggled to Europe via Turkey
from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the ``Golden Crescent.''

Iran said last year that about 58 percent of its 138,000 prisoners were
convicted of drug charges.

The Expediency Council, headed by former president Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, had been reviewing the country's anti-drug laws since last
year. The new laws took effect in the current Iranian month which started
on September 23.

Checked-by: Richard Lake