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The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2020

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The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2020 THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG OFFENCES: GLOBAL OVERVIEW 2020 The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Harm Reduction International (HRI) is a leading Global Overview 2020 non-governmental organisation dedicated to Ajeng Larasati and Giada Girelli reducing the negative health, social and legal © Harm Reduction International, 2021 ISBN 978-1-8380910-6-4 impacts of drug use and drug policy. We promote the rights of people who use drugs and their Designed by ESCOLA Published by communities through research and advocacy to Harm Reduction International help achieve a world where drug policies and laws 61 Mansell Street, Aldgate contribute to healthier, safer societies. London E1 8AN Telephone: +44 (0)20 7324 3535 E-mail: [email protected] The organisation is an NGO with Special Website: www.hri.global Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Acknowledgements This report would not be possible without data made available or shared by human rights organisations and individual experts, many of which provided advice and assistance throughout the drafting process. We would specifically like to thank the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), Hands Off Cain, the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Justice Project Pakistan, LBH Masyarakat, Odhikar, Project 39A (National Law University, Delhi), Reprieve and The Rights Practice. We are also indebted to Iyad Alqaisi, Fahri Azzat, Ricky Gunawan, Pulasthi Hewamanna, Carolyn Hoyle, Richard Lines, M. Ravi and Tripti Tandon. Thanks are also owed to colleagues at Harm Reduction International for their feedback and support in preparing this report: Gen Sander, Cinzia Brentari, Naomi Burke-Shyne, Catherine Cook, Robert Csák, Colleen Daniels, Lucy O’Hare, Maddie O’Hare, Suchitra Rajagopalan, Emily Rowe, Sam Shirley-Beavan, Olga Szubert and Anne Taiwo. And to Temitope Salami, the dedicated volunteer at Harm Reduction International. Any errors are the sole responsibility of Harm Reduction International. 4 Introduction Harm Reduction International (HRI) has monitored the use of the death penalty for drug offences worldwide since our first ground-breaking publication on this issue in 2007. This report, our tenth on the subject, continues our work of providing regular updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international law. The Global Overview 2020 provides an analysis of key developments related to the death penalty for drug offences in 2020, their potential me- dium-term and long-term consequences, and the influence of COVID-19 on these changes. It will also examine the impact of measures introduced in response to COVID-19 on the right to a fair trial. A special section at the end of the report provides a review of best practices identified by lawyers for advocating against the death penalty at the national level. Harm Reduction International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the person accused and their guilt, the nature of the crime and the method of execution. 5 Methodology Drug offences (also referred to as drug-related offences or drug-rela- ted crimes) are drug-related activities categorised as crimes under national laws. For the purposes of this report, this definition excludes activities which are not related to the trafficking, manufacturing, possession or use of controlled substances and related inchoate offences (inciting, assisting or abetting a crime). In the 35 states that retain the death penalty for drug offences, capital punishment is typically applied for the following offences: cultivation and manufacturing, and the smuggling, trafficking or importing/exporting of con- trolled substances. However, in some of these states, the following drug offences may also be punishable by the death penalty (among others): drug possession, storing and hiding drugs, financing drug offences, inducing or coercing others into using drugs. For more information on the drug offences punishable by death by jurisdiction, see HRI’s legislation table at www.hri. global/death-penalty-2020. HRI’s research on the death penalty for drug offences excludes countries where drug offences are punishable with death only if they involve, or result in, intentional killing. For example, in Saint Lucia (not included in this report), the only drug-related offence punishable by death is murder committed in connection with drug trafficking or other drug offences.1 The death penalty is reported as ‘mandatory’ when it is the only pu- nishment that can be imposed following a conviction for at least certain categories of drug offences (without regard to the particular circumstances of the offence or the offender). Mandatory sentences hamper judicial senten- cing discretion, and thus, according to international human rights standards, are inherently arbitrary.2 1 Art. 86(1)(d)(vi), Criminal Code of Saint Lucia (Act 9 of 2004 in force from 1 January 2005). 2 UN Human Rights Committee (3 Sept 2019) General Comment 36 on the Right to Life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para 37; UN Commission on Human Rights, Civil and Political Rights (22 Dec 2004) Including the Questions of Disappearances 6 and Summary Executions: Report of the Special Rapporteur, Philip Alston, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2007/5, para. 63-4 and 80. The numbers that have been included in this report are drawn from and cross-checked against official government reports (where available) and state-run news agencies, court judgments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) reports and databases, United Nations (UN) documents, media reports, scholarly articles, and communications with local activists and human rights advocates, organisations and groups. Every effort has been taken to minimise inaccuracies, but there is always the potential for error. HRI welcomes informa- tion or additional data not included in this report. Identifying current drug laws and controlled drugs schedules in some countries can be challenging, due to limited reporting and recording at the national level, together with language barriers. Some governments make their laws available on official websites; others do not. Where it was not possible for HRI to independently verify a specific law, the report relies on credible secondary sources. With respect to data on death row population, death sentences and executions, the margin for error is even greater. In many countries, informa- tion about the use of the death penalty is shrouded in secrecy, or opaque at best. For this reason, many of the figures cited in this report cannot be con- sidered comprehensive, and instead should be read as minimum numbers of confirmed sentences, executions and death row populations, illustrative of how capital punishment is carried out for drug offences. Real numbers are higher, in some cases significantly. Where information is incomplete, attempts were made to identify additional sources. In some cases, information differs across sources due to this lack of transparency. In these cases, HRI has made a judgment based on available evidence. When the symbol ‘+’ is found next to a number, it means that the reported figure refers to the minimum confirmed number, but according to credible reports the actual figure is likely to be higher. Global and yearly figures are cal- culated by using the minimum confirmed figures. 7 Contents Foreword 10 Executive summary 13 2020 in a snapshot 15 The Death Penalty for Drug The death penalty for 16 Offences in the COVID-19 drug offences in 2020: Pandemic Era A watershed moment The impact of COVID-19 22 on the right to fair trial Conclusion 30 The Death Penalty for Drug Categories 32 Offences: Global Overview 2020 Country-by-country 34 analysis 8 High Low Symbolic Insufficient Application Application Application Data 35 China Bahrain 50 Cuba 61 Libya 67 Indonesia 37 Bangladesh 51 Jordan 61 North Korea 67 Iran 39 Brunei Mauritania 65 Syria 67 51 Malaysia 41 Darussalam Myanmar 62 Yemen 67 Egypt 52 Saudi Arabia 44 Oman 65 India 53 Singapore 46 Qatar 62 53 Vietnam 48 Iraq South Korea 63 54 Kuwait South Sudan 65 54 Lao PDR Sudan 65 55 Pakistan Taiwan 63 Sri Lanka 56 United States State of of America 64 Palestine 58 Thailand 58 United Arab Emirates 59 Special section: 68 Voices from the courtroom: lawyers’strategies to reduce the imposition of the death penalty 9 Foreword 2020 was unquestionably a historic year, during which the world was shut down by a pandemic. It was also an unprecedented year for the use of the death penalty for drug offences.Globally, we saw the lowest number of con- firmed executions for drug offences in more than a decade, and significant decreases in overall executions, even in staunchly retentionist countries. My own country, Singapore, did not carry out any executions this past year for the first time since 2013. COVID-19 has undeniably played a role in this ‘execution respite’. The sig- nificant disruptions to court processes and judicial proceedings, coupled with a shift in governmental priorities during the pandemic and political developments in some countries may have played some roles. Strategic legal challenges and creative advocacy by lawyers have also contributed to this result. The pandemic however has not stopped governments and courts from imposing death sentences. This is despite the fact the court proceedings came to a total halt in many countries. In Singapore, two cases emerged where the death sentence was passed not in a physical hearing but via Zoom. I found that deplorable, and in fact, I am representing one of them. Hence despite COVID- 19, the number of people confirmed to have been sentenced to death for drug offences in 2020 was higher than in 2019. This contributes to the growing po- pulation of people on death row, many of whom are detained in overcrowded prisons with a severe lack of access to health, welfare, and even proper legal services.
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