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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.

Vietnam voted in favor of dropping the death penalty on eight crimes

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June 19, 2009: Vietnam voted in favor of dropping the death penalty on eight crimes.

The amendments to the Criminal Code, passed at the closing day of the National Assembly's month-long session, will take place from January 1, 2010.

Those convicted of rape, fraud for appropriating property, smuggling, making and trafficking in counterfeit money and bonds, using drugs, giving bribes, hijacking or piracy and destroying military weapons will be spared, parliament said in a statement (the proceedings were closed to foreign reporters). Those already convicted of capital crimes and awaiting the death penalty will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Those already convicted of capital crimes and awaiting the death penalty will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Seventy-five percent of deputies in the communist-dominated National Assembly endorsed the amendments to the penal code. The parliament removed using drugs from the list of crimes punishable by death, but deputies maintained capital punishment for drug trafficking.

Vietnam last reduced the number of death penalty crimes from 44 to 29 in 1999, but even with the latest amendments the country still has 21 crimes on its statutes that are punishable by death.

Sources: AFP, 19/06/2009; Reuters, 21/06/2009
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