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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: Man Hanged at Gorgan Prison, Two Men Hanged in Northern Iran

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); August 2, 2019: A man was hanged at the Iranian northern city of Gorgan’s prison for an alleged murder. He had always insisted that he is innocent.

According to IHR sources, a man was hanged on Wednesday, July 31, at Gorgan prison (Amirabad prison). 

IHR identified him as Hamid Samaei. 

“In a wedding, a gang fight happened. A drunk man who attacked others by a sword, was ultimately killed by a knife. Several people testified that Hamid was not the man who stabbed the victim,” a well-informed source told IHR. 

Iran Human Rights (IHR) has seen at least 8 signed-testimonies confirming Hamid’s innocence. However, he was sentenced to Qisas (retribution in kind).

His execution has not been announced by Iranian authorities or media so far. 

At least 110 people were executed in Iran in the first half of 2019.

Only 37 of the executions have been announced by authorities or Iranian media. 

Iran Human Rights (IHR) could confirm 73 more through its sources. IHR only reports the unannounced executions if it could confirm those with two separate credible sources. 

Therefore, the actual number of executions may be even higher than reported.

Two Men Hanged in Northern Iran


Iran Human Rights (IHR); August 2, 2019: Two prisoners were hanged at the Iranian northern city of Rasht’s prison Thursday. 

According to IHR sources, on the early morning of Thursday, August 1, two prisoners hanged for murder charges at Rasht Central Prison (also known as Lakan prison).

One of them has been identified by IHR as Kousha Mottaghi. 

The aforementioned executions have not been announced by Iranian authorities or media so far.

According to the IHR statistic department, at least 110 people were executed in Iran in the first half of 2019.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, August 2, 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: Iran
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