While the U.S punishment for second offense drug crimes is no more than 10 years in jail with a fine of $500,000 for an individual, $2 million for a group, Iran might be taking such crimes a bit more seriously. In the past five months, Iranian authorities have executed some 250 people for drug offenses, according to many human rights organizations. That’s about two people put to death a day. Since the beginning of the year, Iran has executed over 347 people, roughly 241 of them were accused of drug-related violations.

Drug-related executions appear to be on the rise, with at least 41, yet possibly as many as 50, taking place just in April, according to information provided to The World Post from the groups Amnesty International and Reprieve. The group relates,” Many of those people were low-level and nonviolent drug offenders.”

Execution is imposed after multiple cases of bringing in more than 5 kilograms of opium or marijuana into the country, or buying, possessing, carrying or hiding more than 5 kilograms of those drugs.

Other acts that carry the death penalty include smuggling, dealing, producing, distributing or exporting more than 30 grams of heroin, morphine, cocaine or their derivatives.

“It is pretty murky exactly what involvement in the drug business a lot of these defendants have,” Elise Auerbach, an Iran specialist for Amnesty International, told The World Post.

Marzieh Afkham, the spokeswoman for Iran’s foreign ministry, calls the U.N. criticism a “downright lie” and claiming that Iran only uses capital punishment for the “most serious crimes, including narcotics trafficking.”

“When the Iranian government refuses to even acknowledge the full extent of executions which have occurred, it shows a callous disregard for both human dignity and international human rights laws,” said Ahmed Shaheed, a U.N. special reporter on human rights in Iran, in a statement.

FSA Questions:

1. In the article, the author’s purpose is what?
2. In the piece the word “derivatives” means what?
3. The author seems to offer what main idea?
4. Select the best two sentences from the story that support the idea of the death penalty.
5. What is the connotation of the word “smuggling” in the article?