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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.

Bali Nine execution saga could recur: Amnesty

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Bali's Kerobokan Prison
Bali's Kerobokan Prison
A Bali Nine death penalty saga could be repeated, Amnesty International warns after the government rejected recommendations to change federal police rules.

Amnesty International fears there could be another Bali Nine-type death penalty saga after the federal government rejected recommendations to tighten federal police information sharing protocols for drug crimes.

The federal government's response to a parliamentary committee's death penalty report was tabled in the lower house on Wednesday.

The committee recommended federal police obtain guarantees from foreign prosecutors that death penalties won't be sought for drug crimes. If guarantees can't be obtained, information should be withheld.

The federal government did not accept the committee's recommendation.

"The government notes that foreign law enforcement partners cannot themselves provide binding assurances that the death penalty will not be applied if information is provided," the response said.

The government argued that combating serious drug crimes was a high priority and preventing crime in Australia would be impeded if authorities here could not co-operate with death penalty countries.

At the moment federal police guidelines require ministerial approval for co-operation with foreign police agencies in possible death penalty cases once arrests have been made.

In the Bali Nine case, no one had been arrested when the federal police tipped off Indonesian police about a group of Australian drug traffickers.

Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in 2015.

Amnesty International Australia is unimpressed.

"It is extremely disappointing that the government did not take this opportunity to ensure a Bali Nine-type situation never happens again," spokesman Guy Ragen said.

Source: AAP, March 1, 2017

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