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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.

Sri Lankan President commutes death sentences of 60 inmates to life

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Feb 02, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has decided to commute the sentences of 60 prisoners in death row to life sentences prisoners on account of the 69th Independence Day on February 04.

President Sirisena has taken the decision to spare the lives of the prisoners based on the recommendations made by a Committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice and headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayake.

The Committee was appointed to review and report whether the death sentences on death row prisoners should be commuted to life imprisonment. 

Accordingly, the Committee has recommended commuting the sentences of 60 prisoners to life imprisonment effective from February 04.

The death row convicts will be considered for parole only after they served a minimum sentence of 20 years and their pleas for any relief will be referred to the parole board once in four years after that.

Although Sri Lankan courts give death penalty in serious crimes such as murder, rape and drug trafficking, no executions have been carried out since 1976. 

All death penalty cases have been commuted to life in prison.

Source: Colombo Page, Feb. 2, 2017

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