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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: Man Beheaded After 30 Years On Death Row

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February 5, 2013: Saudi authorities beheaded a man some thirty years after he was convicted of murder, after his victim's youngest son came of age and agreed to the punishment.

The country's Interior Ministry announced that Abdullah al-Shomari was beheaded in the northern city of Ha'il for beating a man to death some 30 years ago.

A statement from the ministry added that "the death sentence was postponed until the minor heir of the murdered man came of age and agreed with his other heirs to the execution [of the sentence]."

Under the form of Islamic law practised in Saudi Arabia, murder is punishable by death, but the family of the victim can accept monetary compensation instead.

A recording of al-Shomari pleading with the authorities to postpone the execution and intercede with the victim's family was recently circulated on YouTube.

The beheading is the 10th so far this year in Saudi Arabia.

Source: SAPA, February 6, 2013

Related article:
Killer to be executed after 30 years in jail, Emirates 24/7, Feb. 4, 2013
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