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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 Lanka leader asks rights groups not to oppose executions

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President Maithripala Sirisena, left, and President Rodrigo Duterte
Sri Lanka's president urged human rights groups on Wednesday not to interfere with his plans to end a 43-year moratorium on capital punishment.

Maithripala Sirisena told Parliament that executions will resume in the next 2 months.

He said many larger nations carry out executions but smaller countries like Sri Lanka are hampered by human rights groups in their efforts to control crime.

"In carrying out the executions ... I especially appeal to the human rights organizations not to control punishments given to serious criminals by raising human rights issues," Sirisena said.

Sri Lanka is predominantly Buddhist, a religion which advocates non-violence. It last executed a prisoner in 1976.

Sirisena said while the country has had positive influences from all religions, tough law enforcement is necessary to curb crime and maintain order.

Recent large seizures of narcotics have raised suspicions that the country has become a smuggling hub.

During a visit to the Philippines last month, Sirisena praised President Rodrigo Duterte's drug crackdown as "an example to the world." Thousands of suspects have been killed in the crackdown, which Duterte launched after taking office in 2016. Rights groups have denounced the killings as extrajudicial executions.


Sri Lanka has 1,299 prisoners facing death sentences, including 48 convicted of drug offenses.

Police have intensified efforts to crack down on drugs, seizing 90 kilograms (198 pounds) of heroin from a luxury apartment in Colombo last month. 2 Americans, 2 Sri Lankans and an Afghan were arrested. On Tuesday, a total 110 kilograms (242 pounds) of drugs were seized from 2 locations near the capital.

Giada Girelli, a human rights analyst with the Harm Reduction International drug policy research group, said last week that there is no evidence that executions would serve as an effective deterrent to drug use or trafficking.

Source:  Associated Press, February 7, 2019


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Sri Lanka
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