UK aid to Iran's war on drugs has led to rise in hangings, UN warns

Human rights groups say executions raise concerns over violation of death penalty standards
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, October 28, 2012

Britain's funding of Iran's anti-drugs trafficking programmes has been called into question after a UN watchdog expressed alarm at a sharp rise in the number of narcotics smugglers executed in the Islamic state. A new report by Christof Heyns, the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, spells out concerns that the flow of overseas aid to Iran has been followed by an increase in hangings.