Call for end to anti-drug aid for regimes with death penalty

Human rights groups urge government to stop giving money to countries such as China and Iran
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, December 30, 2012

death-penaltyHuman rights groups have urged the UK government to heed the recommendations of an influential parliamentary committee that has told the government to stop funnelling money into anti drug-trafficking programmes in countries that administer the death penalty. Over the past decade, the UK has given millions of pounds to help Pakistan, China and Iran combat drug smuggling. MPs and human rights groups are horrified by credible claims that the increased aid has met with a corresponding rise in arrests which, in turn, has led to more people ending up on death row, including several Britons.