COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Friday issued a temporary injunction against the execution of four people, a week after the country’s president announced he would end the country’s 43-year moratorium on the death penalty. In April, police publicly destroyed 770 kilograms (1,695 pounds) of drugs seized in 2016 and 2017. Police have seized 731 kilograms (1,608 pounds) of heroin, 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine and 1,607 kilograms (3,535 pounds) of marijuana so far this year. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in Sri Lanka, followed by heroin and cocaine. Sirisena had praised Duterte’s harsh crackdown on illegal drugs as “an example to the world.” Thousands of suspects, mostly urban poor, have been slain since Duterte took office in 2016.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 06, 2019 01:06 UTC