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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.

India's Supreme Court stays execution of Mumbai blast convict

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Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of death row convict Tahir Merchant in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. The convict, who facilitated training of several co-accused in Pakistan, had challenged his death penalty claiming no role in the conspiracy.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, sought a response from the CBI within 6 weeks and called for the case records from the special TADA court in Mumbai, which had awarded death sentence to Merchant and co-convict Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, besides giving life imprisonment to gangster Abu Salem. Merchant was convicted in the second stage of trial in the case as he was absconding earlier.

The bench listed the matter for further hearing on March 14 next year. As many as 257 people were killed and 718 injured in the serial blasts at 12 places in Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

The bench, which also included Justices Ashok Bhushan and M.M. Shantanagoudar, said, "The state of Maharashtra is directed to compile the evidence in entirety and file the compilation in convenient volumes and also serve a copy thereof to the counsel for the appellant (Merchant)."

Merchant had challenged the September 7 order of the special TADA court which had held that he was amongst the main conspirators.

The trial court had noted that Merchant worked with (absconding conspirator) Tiger Memon and participated in several conspiracy meetings in Dubai.

He also made travel arrangements, financed the stay and travel of several co-accused and facilitated their training in Pakistan, the court had said.

"The role of Tahir Merchant in the conspiracy is prominent. He is one of the initiators of the conspiracy," it had said. Merchant's trial was separated from the main case as he was arrested after the first set of trial had already started.

Source: asianage.com, December 5, 2017


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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
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