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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 beheads own citizen for murder

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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens on Monday after he was convicted of murdering a relative, the interior ministry said, adding to a sharp increase in executions this year.

Saleh Al Zahrani was convicted of shooting dead Attiyah Al Zahrani during a dispute between them, said the statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The latest beheading in the southwestern Baha region brings to 115 the number of executions this year in the kingdom, compared with 87 for all of 2014, according to AFP tallies.

Under the conservative kingdom’s strict legal code, drug trafficking, rape, murder, armed robbery, homosexuality and apostasy are all punishable by death.

The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the punishments.

Source: Agence France-Presse, August 10, 2015

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