TEHRAN – The Iranian parliament has passed a bill to its drug trafficking law that could commute the sentences of up to 5,300 inmates currently on death row for drug trafficking.

Passed on Sunday, the amendment will apply retroactively and will restrict the death penalty to criminals who lead drug-trafficking gangs, exploit minors in doing so, carry or draw firearms while committing drug-related crimes, or have a related previous conviction of the death penalty or a jail sentence of more than 15 years or life in prison.

The long-awaited bill gained parliamentary approval after months of debate. However, it must be approved by the Guardian Council to become law.

According to rights group Amnesty International, the number of executions in Iran dropped 42 percent in 2016.

In a recent statement, the watchdog urged Iranian lawmakers not to miss a historic opportunity to reject the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences.

The new law raises the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams to two kilos for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines.

For natural substances such as opium and marijuana, the levels have been raised from five to 50 kilos.

Under the new amendment, the punishment for those already sentenced to death or life imprisonment, except for those meeting the new execution requirements, will be commuted to up to 30 years in jail and a cash fine.

Hassan Norouzi, the spokesman of parliament's judicial and legal committee, defended the bill in a parliamentary debate last week, saying the costs for Iran’s war on drugs have almost doubled since 2010.

Norouzi said there are 7 million people involved in drugs in the country, including 5.2 million drug addicts and 1.8 million drug users.

Iran's neighbor Afghanistan produces some 90 percent of the world's opium, most of which pour into Iran. The total annual opium intercepts by Iranian security forces are larger than in any other country.

Opium production has soared in Afghanistan since the U.S. invaded the country to overthrow the Taliban in 2001.

MH/PA