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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 one prisoner executed in Urmia

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); April 10, 2021: At least one prisoner sentenced to death on drug-related charges was executed in Urmia Central Prison last night.

According to Iran Human rights, a man was executed in Urmia Central Prison on the evening of April 9.

His identity has been established as Kolhar village native, Bayazid Rashidi-Hashtiani, who was around 40 years old and had been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

On April 8, IHR reported that he had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution.

According to an informed source: “Bayazid Rashidi was a father of one and his funeral is currently underway in the village of Kolhar.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been announced by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Three other prisoners who were identified as Sadegh Mohi, Mohammad Mahmoudi and Ahad Nematvand were also executed on drug-related charges in Urmia Central Prison on April 4.

It has been almost four years since an Article was added to the Anti-Narcotics Law in 2017 to limit death sentences specifically and provide a general degree of reprieve in some cases. 

However, while the numbers reduced that year, the death penalty is still being used in drug-related cases.

According to Iran Human Rights’ Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 25 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2020.

Source: iranhr.net, Staff, April 10, 2021


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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: Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
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