Yemen sentences Iranian drug smuggler to death

SANAA (Reuters) - A Yemeni court Saturday sentenced to death the head of a group of Iranian sailors held with a cargo of about 1.5 tonnes of hashish.

The court also issued jail sentences of 25 years each against 11 other Iranians and a crew member believed to be Pakistani, whose vessel had been seized by U.S.-led naval forces and handed over to Yemeni authorities.

Both the prosecution and defense lawyers said they would appeal the sentences.

Iran is a major transit route for drugs from Afghanistan, a top producer of opium and hashish, to the West and Gulf Arab states.

(Reporting by Mohammed Sudam; writing by Firouz Sedarat)