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Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

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Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Saudi Arabia beheads drug trafficker; 77th execution in 2014

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Public beheading in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has beheaded a man convicted of drug trafficking, amid rising concerns about the growing number of executions in the country.

The man, identified as Nasser bin Amiq Ali al-Inzi, had been found guilty of attempting to smuggle "a large amount" of amphetamines into the country, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Saudi man was beheaded in the country’s northern region of Jawf. The execution was the 77th state execution in the oil-rich kingdom in 2014.

Saudi Arabia, with one of the highest rates of executions in the world, has frequently been criticized by human rights organizations.

Amnesty International recently warned that Saudi Arabia “resumed executions at an alarming pace,” expressing concern over the possible execution of dozens of prisoners on death row.

The prominent rights group lashed out at the Saudi regime for what it describes as the dire human rights situation in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia, ruled by a hereditary royal system, enjoys full support of its close ally, the United States.

In July, then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, censured Saudi Arabia for harassing human rights activists under a failed judicial system.

Saudi Arabia carries out capital punishment mostly by beheading.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery, homosexuality and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under the Saudi rule.

Source: Agence France-Presse, December 9, 2014
Location: Saudi Arabia
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