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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.

Iran: At Least 10 Sunni Prisoners Hanged

Public hanging in Iran (file photo)
Iran Human Rights (AUG 2 2016): At least 10 Sunni prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prion of Karaj (west of Tehran) early morning on Tuesday August 2. 

Among these prisoners is Shahram Ahmadi, who was sentenced to death in an unfair trial that lasted only a few minutes. Other prisoners who were executed this morning include Khaled Maleki, Mokhtar Rahimi, Bahman Rahimi, Kaveh Veisi, and Kaveh Sharifi.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the execution of the Sunni prisoners and calls for international condemnation of these executions. “Many if not all of these prisoners were subjected to unfair trials and sentenced to death based on confessions extracted under torture. Their execution is a crime, and Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for these crimes," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for Iran Human Rights.

In an unusual move, on Monday August 31, the ward where the men were being held was raided by special guards in black gear and the prisoners were placed under strict security measures. According to close sources, the Iranian forces handcuffed and shackled the feet of around 30 Sunni minority prisoners and transferred them to an unknown location.

A confirmed source tells Iran Human Rights: "They took a total of 36 people out from Hall 10, and seven of them have only been sentenced to death in the lower court and their cases are still in review at the Supreme Court."

According to close sources, the family members of several of the prisoners were informed by Iranian authorities to come in for their final visit on Tuesday August 2 at 3pm Tehran time. "More than 20 families were informed to visit Rajai Shahr Prison, and we're currently on our way there," the wife of one of the prisoners tells Iran Human Rights. She insists her husband is innocent and deserves a fair and open trial. While the families were on their way to the prison, they reportedly received phone calls from unidentified sources telling them to meet at “Behesht e Zahra” cemetery instead for the funeral of their family members.

Some unconfirmed reports say that up to 21 prisoners may have been executed this morning. IHR is investigating further details about these reports.

Source: Iran Human Rights, August 2, 2016


'You're too late' –families not allowed to say goodbye before mass execution in Iran – The Express


The following is a report published by Britain's Express about the brutal massacre of Sunni prisoners in Iran today:

The Express

'You're too late' Heartbreak of families who miss final goodbye before mass execution

FAMILIES preparing to say a final farewell ahead of a mass execution were told they were too late and their loved ones were already dead by prison officials.

Relatives of prisoners were told this morning to visit one last time but when they arrived they were told the inmates had already been hanged.

Instead of saying goodbye, the families were told to go to the morgue to collect the bodies.

The mass execution took place at Gohardasht Prison in Iran this morning, with at least 20 Sunni inmates hanged.

Gohardasht Prison has declared a state of emergency and it's believed the execution was brought forward in order to avoid protests.

The mass execution has been slammed by the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), who are fighting for more human rights in the Islamic Republic.

Shahin Gobadi, of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee, said: "There's a long precedent by the regime in first executing prisoners and then informing their families.

"One explanation for this is that the regime is afraid of a public backlash and protests outside the prison by the families to halt the executions.

"It is particularly cruel as none of the mothers and fathers managed to say goodbye to their loved ones."

Some of the bodies were hastily buried in the Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery.

The prisoners had been moved by security forces hours earlier with reports of inmates hands and feet being chained and their mouths taped shut and heads covered with bags.

It's believed they were moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the mass execution.

Prison authorities cut off the building's phone lines and put inmates not on death row on lockdown during the killings.

Maryam Rajavi the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said the execution was "an appalling crime against humanity."

The hangings come during the 28th anniversary of the 1988 executions which thousands of prisoners executed in a series of state-sanctioned killings over a five month period.

Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed.

The original article can be found here.

Source: NCRI, August 2, 2016


Maryam Rajavi the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said the execution was "an appalling crime against humanity."


Maryam Rajavi called the execution of a large number of Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht Prison, "an appalling crime against humanity." The Iranian Resistance's President-elect extended her sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the Sunni community and all the people of Iran. She called on Iranian youths to stage protests against such barbaric crimes and to rise up in support of and in solidarity with the families of the victims.

She also urged Shiite and Sunni clergies around the world to not remain silent vis-à-vis this major atrocity and denounce Ali Khamenei, the great enemy of the people of Iran and the region, for his anti-human and anti-Islamic crimes.

Maryam Rajavi added: The mullahs' anti-human regime carried out the mass execution of our Sunni brothers on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran. They are trying in vain to contain the volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public.

The NCRI President-elect pointed out: The 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran is the biggest crime of its kind since World War II. The clerical regime's crimes systematically committed over the past 37 years are all examples of crime against humanity, war crimes or genocide. And how the international community reacts to these crimes is its great test.

The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before the International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam Rajavi reiterated.

A large number of Sunni prisoners were hanged this morning, Tuesday, August 2, 2016, at Gohardasht Prison, in Karaj. According to the victims' families, at least 20 have been executed. Prison authorities declared a state of emergency, disconnected all telephone booths and prevented prisoners from referring to the prison's dispensary.

The regime's Judiciary had told the families of prisoners that they had time until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to go to prison for a final visit with their children. However, before they arrived, the Ministry of Intelligence contacted the families and said they should go to the Coroner's of Kahrizak to receive the bodies of their children.

Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed. He was wounded in April 2009 at the time of arrest by Intelligence agents and lost one kidney and part of his intestine. He was badly tortured for 43 months in solitary confinement in the Intelligence Department's detention center in Sanandaj, as a result of which he contracted various illnesses and lost his hearing to a large extent. In October 2012, the mullahs' Judiciary sentenced him to death on the alleged charge of Moharebeh, or waging war on God. His younger brother, Bahram Ahmadi who was under 18 years old at the time of arrest, was executed in Ghezel Hessar Prison in January 2012 along with five other Sunni political prisoners.

Source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, August 2, 2016

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