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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.

White House condemns death sentence of Iranian pastor

Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani
The White House on Thursday condemned the Iranian authorities’ reaffirmation of the death sentence for an Iranian pastor, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms reports that Iranian authorities’ reaffirmed a death sentence for Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for the sole reason of his refusal to recant his Christian faith," said White House press secretary Jay Carney in a statement.

Describing the action as Iran’s breach of "international obligations, its own constitution, and stated religious values," Carney voiced the U.S. support for Nadarkhani and his family.

He criticized the Iranian authorities for disregarding religious freedom and violating rights of its citizen, calling on Tehran to immediately lift the sentence and release Nadarkhani.

Nadarkhani, 32, converted from Islam to Christianity when he was 19. In 2010, he was convicted of apostasy and remains in prison.

Source: APA, Feb. 24, 2012

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