Certain countries are known for having stringent laws and harsh punishments for those who violate them. From limits on free speech and expression to long-standing moral codes governing dress and behaviour, these nations use draconian legal systems that tightly control individual freedoms.
Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of these countries; shining a light on the oppressive rules their citizens must follow to avoid fines, imprisonment, torture – or even execution.
Trigger warning: This article discusses themes of death and violence. Therefore, reader discretion is advised.
North Korea
The presence of North Korea on this list may come as no surprise. The country has always been shrouded in mystery, with tourism tightly controlled by the North Korean government. Visitors can only enter the country on pre-booked, state-sponsored guided tours, which just a handful of companies specialise in arranging.
One of the most important laws to follow in North Korea is never to insult the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, or his family – with perpetrators being sent to ‘re-education camps’ or potentially even executed. There are over 20 crimes punishable by death in North Korea, among which are also murder, rape, kidnap, damage to state property, divulging classified information via cell phone, and minor theft. Most state-sanctioned killings are public executions carried out by firing squads.
In 2015, North Korea’s Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol was killed by anti-aircraft fire in front of hundreds of people for not following instructions, and falling asleep during an event attended by Kim Jong Un.
Foreign nationals visiting North Korea have also received horrific punishments for minor crimes. One such example is American Otto Warmbier, 21, who was on a three-day group tour from China, where he was studying abroad. He was supposedly filmed removing a propaganda poster of Kim Jong-il from his hotel, and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. However, after 17 months, he was sent back to the US in a coma, where he tragically died a week later.
North Koreans themselves can’t travel abroad without permission from the government either – and those who try may be tortured, forced into labour, sent to prison camp, or killed. Escaping is no easy feat – as can be seen from the story of Mr Kim who escaped to Seoul with his family in 2023.
People also can’t make international calls and have no internet connection to other countries. TV and radios are pre-set to only show approved government channels, and foreign radio and cell phone signals are jammed.
China
China is the world’s leading country in its use of the death penalty – with 24 violent crimes and 22 non-violent crimes (including embezzlement and bribery) punishable by death, and as many as 2,400 people being executed in 2015 alone. Most executions are carried out by shooting or lethal injection.
Media and internet access are also controlled, with many websites, including Google, Facebook, and YouTube being blocked. Anti-government propaganda is traced and those responsible are silenced.
As well as its well-known policies on internet censorship and capital punishment, China also enforces some surprising laws aimed at preserving culture and social order. For example, it’s illegal to…
- Promote time travel in movies and TV shows to prevent distortion of history and culture
- Own more than one dog to reduce the number of stray dogs on the streets
- Publish information about ghosts to discourage superstitions and promote scientific knowledge
- Reincarnate without state permission if you’re a Tibetan monk to make sure that the government have control over the next appointed Dalai Lama
Singapore
In Singapore, a person can be fined $1000 for walking naked in their house, playing a musical instrument in public, or public spitting. Meanwhile singing in public can lead to imprisonment and fines, pigeon feeding incurs a penalty of $500. Plus, for connecting to someone’s WiFi without their permission, expect to be fined anything up to $10,000 for a first offence or three months in prison.
There are also various fines and prison sentences attached to littering, using e-cigarettes, public smoking, eating and drinking on public transport, importing or selling chewing gum, drinking in public after 10.30pm, and not flushing public toilets.
Sadly, it’s illegal for same-sex couples to get married in Singapore too, with those we do facing around two years in jail.
For serious crimes like murder, terrorist activities, drug trafficking, and arms-related offences, perpetrators may face life imprisonment or death by hanging. Singapore has some of the World’s toughest drug laws – for example, in July 2023, Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani, 45, was executed after she was found guilty of trafficking 30g of heroin.
Thirty offences – including rape, robbery, vandalism, and overstaying past a certain time without a valid permit – are also punishable by judicial caning. However, women and men over 50 are exempt from this and will face a prison sentence instead.
During judicial caning, perpetrators are tied to a wooden tawse. They’re then struck with a 1.5m rattan cane (soaked in water overnight to make sure that it doesn’t splinter) between three and 24 times across the buttocks.
Saudi Arabia
People have been fined or imprisoned for all kinds of things in Saudi Arabia, including dabbing, possessing homemade wine, charges of witchcraft and sorcery, celebrating their birthday, taking pictures of buildings or palaces, and being linked to the LGBTQ community.
Saudi Arabia is also the only country in the world to still sentence people to death by beheading – with the rate of executions doubling since de facto leader Mohammad bin Salman came into power. According to a Guardian report, an average of 129 executions were carried out each year between 2015 and 2022. In 2022, 147 people were executed; with 90 being for nonviolent crimes and 81 being killed in a single day.
Women are tightly controlled here too. They must wear full-length abayas – a long coat worn over other clothes – in public. And male guardians must give women permission to marry, divorce, get an abortion, seek important medical treatment, and open a bank account.
As you might expect, the media is closely monitored here as well – and anyone publishing or broadcasting anything negative about the government can be arrested.
Iran
Iran has had strict laws surrounding dress since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. All women and girls over the age of nine must wear a hijab in public that covers their head and neck – as well as loose-fitting clothing that covers the arms and legs. Men must also cover their arms and legs.
Those who don’t comply are often arrested by the morality police and fined, lashed, and/or entered into reeducation courses about appropriate public dress.
In 2022, anti-government protests began after 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, was arrested for an alleged breach of the dress code. She collapsed in police custody and was taken to hospital where she died three days later. Outraged by her death, protesters called for an end to the Muslim cleric-led government and its laws on head coverings for women.
But dress code laws are just one aspect of the strict Iranian legal system, which is a combination of Islamic and civil laws, adapted from the French civil law system. Adultery, drinking alcohol, leaving Islam, insulting Islam and/or The Prophet, dancing in public, and engaging in homosexual acts or public displays of affection, are all illegal too. Punishments can include imprisonment, flogging, stoning, lashing, and death.
Final thoughts…
The nations discussed here enforce legal systems and punishments that are among the strictest in the world.
Cultural relativism suggests that all societies’ beliefs and practices should be respected as equally valid within their cultural contexts. However, international bodies and human rights organisations have criticised these countries for violating people’s human rights and dignity.
Most would also agree that society’s progress can be measured, not only by its punitive measures, but its ability to create an environment that allows for peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding, and respect for human life.
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