Malaysian court sentences three Iranians to death

Malaysian court sentences three Iranians to death

2011-11-04 20:20:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA (BNO NEWS) -- A Malaysian high court on Friday sentenced three Iranians to death by hanging after they were found guilty of trafficking drugs, state-run media reported.

The three men were detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in early February and brought to Serdang Hospital in Selangor state for further examination. They were eventually found to have swallowed dozens of capsules with a combined total of 859.9 grams (30.3 ounces) of syabu, the local word for methamphetamine.

The defendants had come from Iran to Malaysia to find work and claimed they thought the capsules contained bodybuilding steroids, vitamins and powdered toothpaste. But Judge Datuk Mohtarudin Baki rejected this, saying the claims "did not hold water," according to the Bernama state-run news agency.

It is unknown how many executions are being carried out in Malaysia each year. Amnesty International said in a recent report that it was able to confirm that at least one execution was carried out in 2010, but indications are that other people were also executed.

In addition, at least 114 new death sentences were imposed in Malaysia last year. More than half of those were imposed for drug-related offenses, while nearly all the others were handed down for murder. A guilty verdict for both offenses automatically means a death sentence in Malaysia, where executions are carried out by hanging.

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