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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.

Indonesia: Prosecutors demand death for drug-smuggling Lithuanian

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A state prosecutor in North Sumatra has demanded the death penalty for Lithuanian citizen Mindaugas Verikas, who was caught in possession of 3.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.

Prosecutor Nova on Wednesday asked the panel of judges at the Medan District Court to sentence the defendant to death, as the drugs confiscated from him exceeded the five-gram threshold for the death penalty as stipulated in Chapter 114 of the 2009 Narcotics Law.

Responding to the prosecution, Indra Cahya, presiding over the panel of judges, asked the team of state prosecutors to separate the defendant from other detainees at Tanjung Gusta Prison in the city.

“Since the defendant could face the death penalty, he should be separated from other inmates in the prison,” he said.

Mindaugas was arrested attempting to bring in the illegal drugs to Indonesia through Kuala Namu International Airport on Dec. 14 last year.

Source: The Jakarta Post, Apriadi Gunawan, June 17, 2015

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Location: Sumatra, Indonesia
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