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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.

20 % of Danes would vote to bring back the death penalty

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Opposition party constituents particularly keen

Denmark, which is known as a leader when it comes to human rights, abolished the death penalty way back in 1930 (although it was briefly brought back from 1945-50 to punish Nazi collaborators).

But a new Megafon survey conducted on behalf of Politiken newspaper and TV2 shows that 20 % of Danes would vote in favour of bringing back the death penalty in Denmark.

In particular, people who voted for the opposition parties at the 2011 election are in favour of the death penalty. 

Some 36 % of Dansk Folkeparti voters said they would vote yes, as did 34 % of Liberal Alliance voters and 32 % of Venstre voters.

No chance

But despite their voters' opinions, DF, LA and Venstre have no intention of adding the death penalty to their election campaign this year.

"I can understand why many believe that the judicial system needs to toughen up after the terror attack in Copenhagen," Peter Skaarup, the DF spokesperson for judicial issues, told Politiken.

"But I don't think that it gives society the right to take another human being's life, even if that person has committed a really serious crime. Our justice system is built on principles that I don't think we should discern. That would be in breach of everything we stand for."

Among Konservative voters, 22 % were in favour of the death penalty, as were small percentages of the other parties: Socialdemokraterne (9), Socialistisk Folkeparti (8), Radikale (4) and Enhedslisten (4).

Source: Copenhagen Post, March 31, 2015

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Location: Denmark
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