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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 | 21-year-old Majid Choupani executed in Qazvin Prison

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); July 25, 2020: A prisoner, sentenced to qisas (retribution in-kind) for "premeditated murder" was executed in Qazvin Central Prison (Choubindar) on July 14, making him the second person to have been executed in Qazvin Prison that day.

According to Iran Human Rights, on the morning of Tuesday, July 14, a 21-year-old prisoner on death row was executed in Qazvin Central Prison. 

The identity of the prisoner has been established as Majid Choupani, who was sentenced to retribution in kind for "premeditated murder".

"Majid Choupani was sentenced to death for the murder of a Nissan driver," an informed source told IHR. "In his confession, he said that the man intended to sexually assault him." 

The source also said that the incident took place in an abandoned field in Takestan, Qazvin and that the murder weapon was a piece of rock.

The source added: "Majid had said that I didn’t strike him with the intention of killing him and only intended to hit him to get rid of him, but was forced to flee. When he realised that he didn’t have a pulse and was dead, he was scared and shocked and ran away. After 40 hours, in his own words, he felt guilty and surrendered and confessed at the Qazvin police station."

Majid Choupani was a Qazvin native and was working as a labourer prior to his arrest.

On July 15, Iran Human Rights published news of the execution of Ali Tavousi, a 35-year-old prisoner who had also been sentenced to retribution in kind for "premeditated murder”. 

News of Majid’s execution makes him the second person to have been executed in Qazvin Prison that day. 

The execution of these two prisoners has not been announced by domestic media and or officials at the time of publishing this article.

According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report, at least 225 of the 280 of those executed in 2019 were charged with "premeditated murder."

As there are no legal distinctions made between murder and manslaughter, whether voluntary or involuntary in Iran, those charged under the umbrella term of “premeditated murder” will receive the death penalty regardless of intent (mens rea) and the circumstances.

Source: iranhr.net, Staff, July 25, 2020


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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: Qazvin, Qazvin Province, Iran
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