Amnesty International Report Reveals The Shocking Scope and Secrecy of Vietnam’s Executions
A new report from Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2016, sheds light on the numbers of those executed under the death penalty in Vietnam in recent years. The global amount of executions decreased from 2015 to 2016, and it is still declining in the US as well. In Vietnam, however, recently disclosed data shows that 429 people were executed under the death penalty in Vietnam from August 2013-June 2016, pushing Vietnam into the third spot for most executions in that time period.
“The magnitude of executions in Vietnam in recent years is truly shocking. This conveyor belt of executions completely overshadows recent death penalty reforms. You have to wonder how many more people have faced the death penalty without the world knowing it.” –Salil Shetty, quote from Amnesty International article on “Death Sentences and Executions 2016.”
Other countries in Asia were highlighted in the report as well, including China, which executed the most people in 2016, and Malaysia, where reliable information on the number of people facing or already executed under the death penalty is, similarly to Vietnam, difficult to obtain.
Vietnam, know for its tough stance on drug offenses, just recently sentenced nine drug traffickers to death.
