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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.

E.U.: Statement on the confirmation of a death sentence in Belarus

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Minsk, Belarus
"The Supreme Court of Belarus on 29 March confirmed the death sentence against Ivan Kulesh, which had already been handed down by the Hrodna Regional Court in November 2015.

Mr Kulesh is guilty of serious crimes and we reiterate our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victims of these crimes.

Despite the seriousness of the acts, the European Union opposes capital punishment in all cases. 

It has proved to fail as a deterrent and it represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.

We urge Belarus, the only country in Europe which still applies capital punishment, to respect the right to life of each one of its citizens and to join a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards its abolition."

Source: eeas.europa.eu, March 30, 2016

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Location: Belarus
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