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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.

British author Alan Shadrake to appeal jail term

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Alan Shadrake
A British author jailed for six weeks after his book on Singapore's death penalty was found to be in contempt of court is filing an appeal to overturn his conviction, his lawyer said.

Alan Shadrake, 76, "wishes to appeal against his conviction and sentence", a letter sent by his lawyer, M Ravi, to the Supreme Court said.

Mr Ravi said Shadrake, a freelance writer based in Malaysia and Britain, should not have been convicted for insulting the judiciary in his book Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice In The Dock.

"Even if he's found guilty, the sentence is excessive," Mr Ravi said.

The lawyer declined to state his grounds for challenging the conviction.

Shadrake was handed a six-week jail term on Tuesday and fined 20,000 Singapore dollars ($15,000) after being found guilty of scandalising the city-state's courts.

It was the stiffest sentence ever imposed in Singapore for the offence and was denounced by human rights groups campaigning for an end to executions and greater freedom of expression in the country.

The previous longest jail term for contempt of court was 15 days.

Source: AFP, November 18, 2010
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