Source: MSN (4 August 2022)
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/vietnamese-justice-sentences-seven-people-to-death-penalty-for-drug-trafficking/ar-AA10h7Xg
The judiciary in Dong Thap province in southern Vietnam has sentenced seven people to death, while two others have been sentenced to life imprisonment and 20 years in prison, respectively, in a drug trafficking case.
The judicial authorities have found them guilty of the crimes of "illegally storing, transporting and organizing drug consumption", according to the verdict released by the Dong Thap People's Court.
Provincial police intercepted one of the defendants in August 2020 while driving a car loaded with nearly 46 kilograms of drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and keratin.
Already during the trial, the defendants admitted to transporting drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam on as many as thirteen occasions with goods ranging from 20 to 45 kilos.
Thus, the Dong Thap People's Court ruled that the activities carried out by the group were harmful to society, which was the reason for the death penalty.
Vietnamese law is particularly harsh on drug trafficking, since the production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or cocaine, or 300 grams of methamphetamine, is punishable by death.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly urged the Vietnamese authorities to abolish capital punishment. This is the highest number of executions handed down in a single case so far this year.
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Saturday, 6 August 2022
Wednesday, 7 April 2021
Drug Smugglers Are Being Sentenced to Death via Zoom
Source: Vice (7 April 2021)
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzejk/drug-smugglers-are-being-sentenced-to-death-via-zoom
Courts in Indonesia and Singapore are using video calls to sentence to death people convicted of drug trafficking, according to drug harm reduction experts.
Harm Reduction International (HRI), which published its annual report into global drug war death penalties on Wednesday, told VICE World News that 19 drug offenders were sentenced to death in Indonesia during virtual hearings held on video apps such as Zoom and WhatsApp between March 2020 and March this year. Two people convicted of drug trafficking were handed death sentences over Zoom calls in Singapore last year.
The report said use of video calls for trial hearings and to administer death sentences introduced due to COVID-19 constituted a “significant violation of their fair trial rights”.
Lawyers for defendants said the video conference calls, which featured defendants speaking from prison, were often prone to interruption and “freezing” due to bad internet connections. Indonesia has some of the lowest internet speeds in the world.
In addition, they said the online format meant they could not properly consult with defendants, and that proceedings were not always be witnessed by the general public, including family members. A number of those sentenced to death were foreign nationals, some of whom who had no access to court interpreters. Lawyers also said Zoom calls were lacking in terms of security and confidentiality.
“We cannot record the process, nor take screenshots or photos unless we get the judges’ permission. Virtual hearings mean the whole process is not open for the public because the link is distributed limitedly,” lawyers who defended some of the traffickers told HRI.
The virtual death sentences in Indonesia include the case of three Malaysians, Kumar Atchababoo, Rajandran Ramasamy, and Sanggat Ramasamy, who were sentenced to death via an online video call in November after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 28.6kg of methamphetamine into Indonesia last January. A defence lawyer said he would be appealing the decision as the online trial meant he could not communicate with his client. In February a Pakistani national and a Yemeni national were handed death sentences for methamphetamine smuggling after an online Zoom trial and sentencing.
In Singapore last May, Punithan Genasan, a 37-year old from Malaysia, was sentenced to death by hanging via a sentencing hearing held on Zoom. Genasan, who had denied the charges, was sentenced after being found guilty of a heroin smuggling charge dating back to 2011.
“The use of virtual platforms to conduct criminal proceedings, especially those which result in a death sentence, can expose the defendant to significant violations of their fair trial rights and impinge on the quality of the defence,” said the report.
As of October 2020, according to the report, there were 355 people on death row in Indonesia, of which 214 were convicted for drug offences – a 29 percent increase from 2019. Indonesia has a reputation for harsh treatment of its addicted drug users, and has seen a clampdown on its tourists drug scene since 2019.
The report found that despite the COVID pandemic there was a rise in death sentences handed out for drug offences. In 2020, courts sentenced 213 people to death for drug offences, an increase of 16 percent from the previous year, with Vietnam (78) and Indonesia (77) representing three quarters of all death sentences given for drugs. In June five people, including a mother and her daughter, were sentenced to death for their role in smuggling 26.4kg of heroin into Vietnam from Laos.
However, the number of executions for drug offences tumbled last year by 75 percent, due to the pandemic and also a near moratorium on drug crime executions in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s top executioners for drug offences for the past decade. There were 30 confirmed executions for drug offences in 2020, down from 116 in 2019. All of the executions took place in 3 countries, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
One case involved an Egyptian truck driver who was arrested with a stash of amphetamine hidden in a truck he was driving transporting in Saudi Arabia in 2017. Human rights groups said he was tortured so badly he missed two court hearings and was denied legal representation. His family wasn’t informed of his arrest, conviction and execution, in January last year, which they found out about from fellow prisoners and a newspaper article.
Data on the death penalty for drug offences is “grossly insufficient” according to HRI, partly due to a lack of information on executions in China and Vietnam, with both nations reported to routinely execute people for drug offences. Vietnam considers the death penalty a matter of state secrecy.
The report said 35 countries still retain the death penalty for drug offences. There are at least 3,000 people currently on death row for drug offences worldwide.
“The fact that countries continued to sentence people to death for drug offences amidst a global pandemic is abhorrent and emblematic of an overly punitive approach to drug control. Too many countries remain reluctant to move away from capital punishment and their false belief that the death penalty deters drug offences,” said Naomi Burke-Shyne, executive director at HRI.
“While the record low number of executions for drug offences is certainly welcome, executions are only the tip of the iceberg. Executions are the most visible part of a hugely problematic system, characterised by human rights violations.”
There were no drug offence executions in the US in 2020. Although in February last year former President Donald Trump praised countries, including China, which impose the death penalty for drug offences, saying, erroneously, that “states with a very powerful death penalty on drug dealers don’t have a drug problem.” Incumbent President Joe Biden has pledged to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level. In December 2020, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted its eighth resolution calling for a moratorium of the death penalty, with record-breaking support from 123 countries.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzejk/drug-smugglers-are-being-sentenced-to-death-via-zoom
Courts in Indonesia and Singapore are using video calls to sentence to death people convicted of drug trafficking, according to drug harm reduction experts.
Harm Reduction International (HRI), which published its annual report into global drug war death penalties on Wednesday, told VICE World News that 19 drug offenders were sentenced to death in Indonesia during virtual hearings held on video apps such as Zoom and WhatsApp between March 2020 and March this year. Two people convicted of drug trafficking were handed death sentences over Zoom calls in Singapore last year.
The report said use of video calls for trial hearings and to administer death sentences introduced due to COVID-19 constituted a “significant violation of their fair trial rights”.
Lawyers for defendants said the video conference calls, which featured defendants speaking from prison, were often prone to interruption and “freezing” due to bad internet connections. Indonesia has some of the lowest internet speeds in the world.
In addition, they said the online format meant they could not properly consult with defendants, and that proceedings were not always be witnessed by the general public, including family members. A number of those sentenced to death were foreign nationals, some of whom who had no access to court interpreters. Lawyers also said Zoom calls were lacking in terms of security and confidentiality.
“We cannot record the process, nor take screenshots or photos unless we get the judges’ permission. Virtual hearings mean the whole process is not open for the public because the link is distributed limitedly,” lawyers who defended some of the traffickers told HRI.
The virtual death sentences in Indonesia include the case of three Malaysians, Kumar Atchababoo, Rajandran Ramasamy, and Sanggat Ramasamy, who were sentenced to death via an online video call in November after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 28.6kg of methamphetamine into Indonesia last January. A defence lawyer said he would be appealing the decision as the online trial meant he could not communicate with his client. In February a Pakistani national and a Yemeni national were handed death sentences for methamphetamine smuggling after an online Zoom trial and sentencing.
In Singapore last May, Punithan Genasan, a 37-year old from Malaysia, was sentenced to death by hanging via a sentencing hearing held on Zoom. Genasan, who had denied the charges, was sentenced after being found guilty of a heroin smuggling charge dating back to 2011.
“The use of virtual platforms to conduct criminal proceedings, especially those which result in a death sentence, can expose the defendant to significant violations of their fair trial rights and impinge on the quality of the defence,” said the report.
As of October 2020, according to the report, there were 355 people on death row in Indonesia, of which 214 were convicted for drug offences – a 29 percent increase from 2019. Indonesia has a reputation for harsh treatment of its addicted drug users, and has seen a clampdown on its tourists drug scene since 2019.
The report found that despite the COVID pandemic there was a rise in death sentences handed out for drug offences. In 2020, courts sentenced 213 people to death for drug offences, an increase of 16 percent from the previous year, with Vietnam (78) and Indonesia (77) representing three quarters of all death sentences given for drugs. In June five people, including a mother and her daughter, were sentenced to death for their role in smuggling 26.4kg of heroin into Vietnam from Laos.
However, the number of executions for drug offences tumbled last year by 75 percent, due to the pandemic and also a near moratorium on drug crime executions in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s top executioners for drug offences for the past decade. There were 30 confirmed executions for drug offences in 2020, down from 116 in 2019. All of the executions took place in 3 countries, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
One case involved an Egyptian truck driver who was arrested with a stash of amphetamine hidden in a truck he was driving transporting in Saudi Arabia in 2017. Human rights groups said he was tortured so badly he missed two court hearings and was denied legal representation. His family wasn’t informed of his arrest, conviction and execution, in January last year, which they found out about from fellow prisoners and a newspaper article.
Data on the death penalty for drug offences is “grossly insufficient” according to HRI, partly due to a lack of information on executions in China and Vietnam, with both nations reported to routinely execute people for drug offences. Vietnam considers the death penalty a matter of state secrecy.
The report said 35 countries still retain the death penalty for drug offences. There are at least 3,000 people currently on death row for drug offences worldwide.
“The fact that countries continued to sentence people to death for drug offences amidst a global pandemic is abhorrent and emblematic of an overly punitive approach to drug control. Too many countries remain reluctant to move away from capital punishment and their false belief that the death penalty deters drug offences,” said Naomi Burke-Shyne, executive director at HRI.
“While the record low number of executions for drug offences is certainly welcome, executions are only the tip of the iceberg. Executions are the most visible part of a hugely problematic system, characterised by human rights violations.”
There were no drug offence executions in the US in 2020. Although in February last year former President Donald Trump praised countries, including China, which impose the death penalty for drug offences, saying, erroneously, that “states with a very powerful death penalty on drug dealers don’t have a drug problem.” Incumbent President Joe Biden has pledged to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level. In December 2020, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted its eighth resolution calling for a moratorium of the death penalty, with record-breaking support from 123 countries.
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Vietnam to scrap death penalty for 5 felonies under amended Penal Code
Source: Tuoi Tre News (25 October 2017)
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20171025/vietnam-to-scrap-death-penalty-for-5-felonies-under-amended-penal-code/42245.html
The amended 2015 Penal Code of Vietnam, which will take effect at the start of 2018, will no longer impose the death penalty on those found guilty of five felonies.
The code is an amened version of the country’s 2015 Penal Code that has been in place since July 2016.
According to the amended code, five felonies including robbery, manufacturing and trading of fake food and medicine, destroying facilities crucial to national security, surrendering to the enemy, and disobeying orders of commanding officers will no longer be subject to the death penalty.
The last two felonies are applicable to military personnel only.
The highest punishment for these crimes will be reduced to life sentence.
The amended Penal Code will also treat the felony of stockpiling, transporting, trading or appropriating narcotics under different articles.
Currently, those guilty of the crime faces capital punishment as the higest sentence.
Under the amended code, only the crimes of transporting and trading of narcotics are eigible for the death penalty, while those who stockpile or appropriate the illegal drugs will only face life imprisonment at most.
Additionally, criminals older than 75 years of age or those charged with corruption but had voluntarily submitted 75 percent of their embezzled property will be exempt from capital punishment.
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20171025/vietnam-to-scrap-death-penalty-for-5-felonies-under-amended-penal-code/42245.html
The amended 2015 Penal Code of Vietnam, which will take effect at the start of 2018, will no longer impose the death penalty on those found guilty of five felonies.
The code is an amened version of the country’s 2015 Penal Code that has been in place since July 2016.
According to the amended code, five felonies including robbery, manufacturing and trading of fake food and medicine, destroying facilities crucial to national security, surrendering to the enemy, and disobeying orders of commanding officers will no longer be subject to the death penalty.
The last two felonies are applicable to military personnel only.
The highest punishment for these crimes will be reduced to life sentence.
The amended Penal Code will also treat the felony of stockpiling, transporting, trading or appropriating narcotics under different articles.
Currently, those guilty of the crime faces capital punishment as the higest sentence.
Under the amended code, only the crimes of transporting and trading of narcotics are eigible for the death penalty, while those who stockpile or appropriate the illegal drugs will only face life imprisonment at most.
Additionally, criminals older than 75 years of age or those charged with corruption but had voluntarily submitted 75 percent of their embezzled property will be exempt from capital punishment.
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
Is there more to the death sentence for graft in Vietnam?
Source: The Straits Times (3 October 2017)
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/is-there-more-to-the-death-sentence-for-graft-in-vietnam-the-nation
BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Conviction for corruption in high places in Vietnam can bring a sentence of death, and yet even that doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent there. As earnest as the ruling Communist Party is in consistently cracking down on graft among politicians and businesspeople, the situation has improved little in recent years.
Last week it was the turn of a former chairman of state-owned PetroVietnam to be handed a death sentence and a bank's former chief executive was jailed for life in what has been called the biggest fraud trial in modern Vietnamese history, involving 51 defendants.
The People's Court of Hanoi found Nguyen Xuan Son and Ha Van Tham guilty of mismanagement, property appropriation and abusing their authority. At PetroVietnam, Son embezzled US$2.15 million (S$2.94 million) and scooped another US$8.7 million from Ocean Bank, which is partially owned by the state.
He'd worked there previously. Tham, chairman of the board at Ocean Bank, and accomplices also affiliated with the bank violated credit regulations that seriously undermined state monetary policies and cost the bank US$88 million. The massive trial resulted in jail terms ranging from three to 17 years as well as suspended sentences of between 18 and 36 months.
Vietnam is routinely harsh in punishing high-ranking officials convicted of corruption. In late 2013, in a high-profile corruption scam that riveted the nation, two former bosses of state-run Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) received death sentences for embezzling nearly US$one million.
The tough stance, though, has barely made a dent in the country's "corruption perception index", as measured annually since 2012 by Transparency International. The watchdog's 2016 report released early this year placed Vietnam at 113 among 176 countries and territories. Its point score out of 100 was 33 last year and 31 from 2012-2015.
What's wrong with this picture? Ask most Vietnamese and they'll say the ferocious, highly publicised crackdowns on corruption mask an underlying political struggle among the powerful elite.
The case against the PetroVietnam and Ocean Bank officials had been brewing for some time. In May, the "mayor" Ho Chi Minh City, Dinh La Thang, was ousted from the inner circle of the decision-making politburo over alleged fraud involving PetroVietnam. Observers believe he might well have committed fraud, but the main reason for his purging was that he was close to Nguyen Tan Dung, the prime minister bumped from office last year.
It falls to current party chief Nguyen Phu Trong to establish for the world community that his seriousness in tackling corruption does not stem from a desire to get rid of political enemies. By all accounts a highly intelligent man, Trong must know that tough penalties alone will not curb corruption.
In fact, it is more often a matter of thuggish authoritarianism serving as a catalyst for graft and other abuses of power. Corruption flourishes in dark places. Only by ensuring that the workings of government are transparent to all, and that the rule of law is effective and efficient, can it be uprooted at the base.
If corruption genuinely concerns the leaders of any government, they must determine where in their administrative systems serious reform is required. That applies to state agencies and state-owned enterprises too. The problem will not go away without sincerity, transparency and accountability.
The Nation is a member of The Straits Times media partner Asia News Network, an alliance of 23 news media entities.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/is-there-more-to-the-death-sentence-for-graft-in-vietnam-the-nation
BANGKOK (THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Conviction for corruption in high places in Vietnam can bring a sentence of death, and yet even that doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent there. As earnest as the ruling Communist Party is in consistently cracking down on graft among politicians and businesspeople, the situation has improved little in recent years.
Last week it was the turn of a former chairman of state-owned PetroVietnam to be handed a death sentence and a bank's former chief executive was jailed for life in what has been called the biggest fraud trial in modern Vietnamese history, involving 51 defendants.
The People's Court of Hanoi found Nguyen Xuan Son and Ha Van Tham guilty of mismanagement, property appropriation and abusing their authority. At PetroVietnam, Son embezzled US$2.15 million (S$2.94 million) and scooped another US$8.7 million from Ocean Bank, which is partially owned by the state.
He'd worked there previously. Tham, chairman of the board at Ocean Bank, and accomplices also affiliated with the bank violated credit regulations that seriously undermined state monetary policies and cost the bank US$88 million. The massive trial resulted in jail terms ranging from three to 17 years as well as suspended sentences of between 18 and 36 months.
Vietnam is routinely harsh in punishing high-ranking officials convicted of corruption. In late 2013, in a high-profile corruption scam that riveted the nation, two former bosses of state-run Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) received death sentences for embezzling nearly US$one million.
The tough stance, though, has barely made a dent in the country's "corruption perception index", as measured annually since 2012 by Transparency International. The watchdog's 2016 report released early this year placed Vietnam at 113 among 176 countries and territories. Its point score out of 100 was 33 last year and 31 from 2012-2015.
What's wrong with this picture? Ask most Vietnamese and they'll say the ferocious, highly publicised crackdowns on corruption mask an underlying political struggle among the powerful elite.
The case against the PetroVietnam and Ocean Bank officials had been brewing for some time. In May, the "mayor" Ho Chi Minh City, Dinh La Thang, was ousted from the inner circle of the decision-making politburo over alleged fraud involving PetroVietnam. Observers believe he might well have committed fraud, but the main reason for his purging was that he was close to Nguyen Tan Dung, the prime minister bumped from office last year.
It falls to current party chief Nguyen Phu Trong to establish for the world community that his seriousness in tackling corruption does not stem from a desire to get rid of political enemies. By all accounts a highly intelligent man, Trong must know that tough penalties alone will not curb corruption.
In fact, it is more often a matter of thuggish authoritarianism serving as a catalyst for graft and other abuses of power. Corruption flourishes in dark places. Only by ensuring that the workings of government are transparent to all, and that the rule of law is effective and efficient, can it be uprooted at the base.
If corruption genuinely concerns the leaders of any government, they must determine where in their administrative systems serious reform is required. That applies to state agencies and state-owned enterprises too. The problem will not go away without sincerity, transparency and accountability.
The Nation is a member of The Straits Times media partner Asia News Network, an alliance of 23 news media entities.
Saturday, 15 July 2017
New law to enable Vietnam's corrupt officials to escape death penalty by paying back stolen money
Source: VN Express (13 July 2017)
http://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/new-law-to-enable-vietnam-s-corrupt-officials-to-escape-death-penalty-by-paying-back-stolen-money-3612878.html
Amendments to Vietnam’s Penal Code, which takes effect in January 2018, give those found guilty of corruption and bribery the chance to escape the death sentence if they return 75 percent of their ill-gotten gains.
Those sentenced to death for corruption or taking bribes can have their punishment commuted to life in jail if they cooperate with the authorities during the investigation and voluntarily return at least 75 percent of their illegal earnings, officials said at a press briefing called by the President Office on Wednesday.
The 2015 Penal Code had been scheduled to come into effect in July 2016 but was shelved due to multiple errors and loopholes. The National Assembly, Vietnam's top legislature, approved the revised law last month.
The clause was one of the controversial parts of the new code. Some lawmakers argued that it would weaken the fight against corruption, which the Vietnamese government has set as one of its priorities.
Under the 1999 Penal Code, capital punishment could be handed down to those who abused their power to embezzle VND500 million ($22,000) or take bribes of at least VND300 million. Vietnamese workers earned an average of $2,200 last year.
The new law also spares convicts over 75 years old from the death penalty, as well as those convicted of robbery, vandalizing equipment and works significant to national security, opposing order, surrendering to the enemy, drug possession and appropriation, and the production and trade of fake food. That will bring Vietnam's number of capital crimes from 22 to 15.
http://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/new-law-to-enable-vietnam-s-corrupt-officials-to-escape-death-penalty-by-paying-back-stolen-money-3612878.html
Amendments to Vietnam’s Penal Code, which takes effect in January 2018, give those found guilty of corruption and bribery the chance to escape the death sentence if they return 75 percent of their ill-gotten gains.
Those sentenced to death for corruption or taking bribes can have their punishment commuted to life in jail if they cooperate with the authorities during the investigation and voluntarily return at least 75 percent of their illegal earnings, officials said at a press briefing called by the President Office on Wednesday.
The 2015 Penal Code had been scheduled to come into effect in July 2016 but was shelved due to multiple errors and loopholes. The National Assembly, Vietnam's top legislature, approved the revised law last month.
The clause was one of the controversial parts of the new code. Some lawmakers argued that it would weaken the fight against corruption, which the Vietnamese government has set as one of its priorities.
Under the 1999 Penal Code, capital punishment could be handed down to those who abused their power to embezzle VND500 million ($22,000) or take bribes of at least VND300 million. Vietnamese workers earned an average of $2,200 last year.
The new law also spares convicts over 75 years old from the death penalty, as well as those convicted of robbery, vandalizing equipment and works significant to national security, opposing order, surrendering to the enemy, drug possession and appropriation, and the production and trade of fake food. That will bring Vietnam's number of capital crimes from 22 to 15.
Thursday, 20 April 2017
Beware Vietnam's Death Machine
Source: The Diplomat (20 April 2017)
http://thediplomat.com/2017/04/beware-vietnams-death-machine/
One Thursday in July 2013, Barack Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Tan Sang, sat down in the Oval Office to discuss Thomas Jefferson. Sang brought to this historic meeting between the two nation’s presidents a letter Ho Chi Minh had sent Harry Truman, prior to the Vietnam War, seeking cooperation with the United States. Uncle Ho’s words, said Obama, were “inspired by the words of Thomas Jefferson.” In fact, when the Proclamation of Independence was read by Ho in 1945, he chose to begin with an extract from America’s Declaration of Independence, its principal author being Jefferson.
While a visit to the White House by the Vietnamese president was an occasion for historical reflection, the here-and-now was what really mattered. Indeed, diplomacy and trade were the main talking points, signaling the start of an emboldened relationship between the two nations. But the U.S. president did at least mention Vietnam’s human right’s record.
“All of us have to respect issues like freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. And we had a very candid conversation about both the progress that Vietnam is making and the challenges that remain,” Obama said after the meeting. Sang’s only comment was that the two men “have differences on the issue.”
Little reported afterwards was the execution of a 27-year old Vietnamese man named Nguyen Anh Tuan, a convicted murderer, which took place on August 6, just two weeks after Sang’s visit to White House. Tuan’s execution was the first in years, and the first since Vietnam replaced firing squads with lethal injections in 2011. However, a ban on importing “authorized” lethal drugs meant it had to use untested domestic poisons. Tuan took two hours to die, reportedly in harrowing pain.
Between the date of Tuan’s death and June 30, 2016, Vietnam executed 429 people (or an average of 147 executions per year; or 12 each month). Additionally, 1,134 people were given death sentences between July 2011 and June 2016. The number remaining on “death row” is not known.
These figures only came to light after the public security ministry decided to release them in February. They are normally classified as state secrets and rarely revealed. Surprising many around the world who thought the numbers to be much lower, Amnesty International reported this month that Vietnam is now the world’s third-most prolific executioner of prisoners. Only China and Iran are thought to have executed more people.
In June 2016, the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights provided a lengthy report on the death penalty’s mechanisms in Vietnam, explaining that capital punishment is applied for 18 different offenses, down from 44 in 1999.
Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors this includes harsh drug laws, and Vietnam metes out the death penalty for those caught in possession or smuggling 100 grams or more of heroin or cocaine, or 5 kilograms or more of cannabis and other opiates. Other crimes, including murder and rape, also carry a death sentence.
After reforms during the 2000s, “the death penalty was effectively abolished on certain crimes, such as robbery, disobeying orders or surrendering to the enemy. But in other cases, crimes were simply re-worded to mask their appearance and deceive international opinion,” the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights report reads.
Particularly troubling is the fact that the Vietnamese regime wields capital punishment for vaguely-defined crimes of “infringing upon national security,” explains the report. These include carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration (Article 109 of the reformed Criminal Code), rebellion (article 112), and sabotaging the material-technical foundations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (article 114).
Returning to the recent execution figures, it is worth considering why the regime would choose to announce them in February – knowing the reaction they would cause – and whether they are not masking a far larger number of executions.
One problem is that they came with no information as to what the prisoners were being executed for. We might assume that most were for drug offenses or murder, as has been the case in the past, but it is by no means certain. That leads one to wonder whether any of the people executed were arrested for simply protesting against the regime.
Even if they weren’t, capital punishment and human rights are by no means detached issues, as some claim. What is the connection between the drug trafficker, the murder and the human-rights activist in the regime’s eyes? They are all a risk to national security. Indeed, in his famed essay, “Of Crimes and Punishments,” Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria described the death penalty as a “war of the whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider necessary.”
But what is the “nation” in Vietnam? It is not just an arbitrary land defined borders. No – according the regime’s own laws, it is defined as akin to the “people’s administration.” Since the Communist Party and the Nation are effectively the same under the law, an attack on the Party becomes treasonous. Indeed, the law makes “no distinction between violent acts such as terrorism, and the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression,” the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights report reads.
Moreover, what is a “citizen” in Vietnam? And if it is to be treasonous to attack the Party, and thereby the Nation, does this mean the person who wishes the end of the Party is not a citizen? When France did away with the peine de mort in the early 1980s, Francois Mitterrand’s Minister of Justice said the scaffold had come to symbolize “a totalitarian concept of the relationship between the citizen and the state.” It is this same totalitarian relationship that knots capital punishment and human rights in Vietnam.
What also catches the eye is the hubristic nature of Hanoi’s release of the execution figures, coming as they do as criticism of the regime increases. They might be better read as a boast, not an admission. The overriding message is: We are prepared to kill, and have done so more than most people thought.
Following the 2013 meeting between Obama and Sang, some pundits thought Obama’s ambition was to embolden Vietnam’s reformist politicians through diplomatic engagement and improved trade links. This became America’s foreign policy towards Hanoi for the next three years. It didn’t work, however, and suppression has remained as essential as ever for the Communist Party, perhaps even more so, especially as criticism of the Party’s rule nowadays swells on issues such an environmentalism.
So while Vietnam’s economy has flourished since Obama’s rapprochement, its civil society has languished somewhere between desperation and enviable bravery. Obama’s administration bears responsibility for this, and the strategic patience it gambled on played only into Hanoi’s hands. Naive, perhaps. Or just willfully remiss, as Vietnam’s amity was necessary for America’s counter-Beijing Asian ‘pivot’. Maybe, then, Vietnam’s activists were jettisoned for the sake of geopolitics – an unexceptional component of America’s Janus-faced foreign policy.
Today, however, U.S. trade links are far from assured. U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the TPP has jeopardized the free-trade bounty Hanoi was counting on. Vietnam now appears keen to formalize a bilateral free-trade agreement with the US, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said last month that he wants to visit Washington as soon as possible
In a perverse situation, Trump’s administration now wields the stick that Obama chose not to use. Moreover, it has the ability to bargain in a way Obama couldn’t: No trade pact without improved human rights. Since the Communist Party’s legitimacy depends on a growing economy – and a fifth of all Vietnam’s export are to the United States, which could be further hampered if Trump pushes through trade tariffs and increased taxes on imports – Hanoi might be strong-armed into opening up space for criticism, in return for the United States opening more trade links.
Still, this depends on how much Trump values a human-rights laden foreign policy, which some analysts claim he doesn’t. That said, the State Department’s decision to give the imprisoned Vietnamese activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh the “International Women of Courage Award” certainly irked Hanoi.
Perhaps this explains the adroit use of executions statistics by the Vietnamese regime, and the appropriate timing of their release. The numbers will raise hairs in Europe; the European Union (EU) bars membership for countries with capital punishment, though not for countries with which it agrees free-trade agreements, it seems. The EU-Vietnam FTA that should become effective next year but contains no condition regarding Vietnam abolishing the death penalty (surely patronizing, given that the EU has higher expectations of European countries than others).
The execution figures, however, put the United States in an awkward position. It cannot condemn Vietnam when it is still a practitioner in capital punishment, as well as the loudest proponent of drug prohibition internationally, too. As is to be expected, the White House has been silent on the matter. If the Washington can stomach the totalitarian ethos behind Vietnam’s capital punishment then why can’t it overlook Vietnam’s human right’s record, Hanoi may well argue. Indeed, the moral lecturer on human rights has the mirror turned on it when capital punishment arises.
One might assume, then, that with little international support for capital punishment abolition in Vietnam, the cogs will no doubt continue rotating on the death machine, at least until a true separation between the Nation and the Party, and between the State and the Citizen, takes place.
http://thediplomat.com/2017/04/beware-vietnams-death-machine/
One Thursday in July 2013, Barack Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Tan Sang, sat down in the Oval Office to discuss Thomas Jefferson. Sang brought to this historic meeting between the two nation’s presidents a letter Ho Chi Minh had sent Harry Truman, prior to the Vietnam War, seeking cooperation with the United States. Uncle Ho’s words, said Obama, were “inspired by the words of Thomas Jefferson.” In fact, when the Proclamation of Independence was read by Ho in 1945, he chose to begin with an extract from America’s Declaration of Independence, its principal author being Jefferson.
While a visit to the White House by the Vietnamese president was an occasion for historical reflection, the here-and-now was what really mattered. Indeed, diplomacy and trade were the main talking points, signaling the start of an emboldened relationship between the two nations. But the U.S. president did at least mention Vietnam’s human right’s record.
“All of us have to respect issues like freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. And we had a very candid conversation about both the progress that Vietnam is making and the challenges that remain,” Obama said after the meeting. Sang’s only comment was that the two men “have differences on the issue.”
Little reported afterwards was the execution of a 27-year old Vietnamese man named Nguyen Anh Tuan, a convicted murderer, which took place on August 6, just two weeks after Sang’s visit to White House. Tuan’s execution was the first in years, and the first since Vietnam replaced firing squads with lethal injections in 2011. However, a ban on importing “authorized” lethal drugs meant it had to use untested domestic poisons. Tuan took two hours to die, reportedly in harrowing pain.
Between the date of Tuan’s death and June 30, 2016, Vietnam executed 429 people (or an average of 147 executions per year; or 12 each month). Additionally, 1,134 people were given death sentences between July 2011 and June 2016. The number remaining on “death row” is not known.
These figures only came to light after the public security ministry decided to release them in February. They are normally classified as state secrets and rarely revealed. Surprising many around the world who thought the numbers to be much lower, Amnesty International reported this month that Vietnam is now the world’s third-most prolific executioner of prisoners. Only China and Iran are thought to have executed more people.
In June 2016, the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights provided a lengthy report on the death penalty’s mechanisms in Vietnam, explaining that capital punishment is applied for 18 different offenses, down from 44 in 1999.
Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors this includes harsh drug laws, and Vietnam metes out the death penalty for those caught in possession or smuggling 100 grams or more of heroin or cocaine, or 5 kilograms or more of cannabis and other opiates. Other crimes, including murder and rape, also carry a death sentence.
After reforms during the 2000s, “the death penalty was effectively abolished on certain crimes, such as robbery, disobeying orders or surrendering to the enemy. But in other cases, crimes were simply re-worded to mask their appearance and deceive international opinion,” the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights report reads.
Particularly troubling is the fact that the Vietnamese regime wields capital punishment for vaguely-defined crimes of “infringing upon national security,” explains the report. These include carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration (Article 109 of the reformed Criminal Code), rebellion (article 112), and sabotaging the material-technical foundations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (article 114).
Returning to the recent execution figures, it is worth considering why the regime would choose to announce them in February – knowing the reaction they would cause – and whether they are not masking a far larger number of executions.
One problem is that they came with no information as to what the prisoners were being executed for. We might assume that most were for drug offenses or murder, as has been the case in the past, but it is by no means certain. That leads one to wonder whether any of the people executed were arrested for simply protesting against the regime.
Even if they weren’t, capital punishment and human rights are by no means detached issues, as some claim. What is the connection between the drug trafficker, the murder and the human-rights activist in the regime’s eyes? They are all a risk to national security. Indeed, in his famed essay, “Of Crimes and Punishments,” Italian philosopher Cesare Beccaria described the death penalty as a “war of the whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider necessary.”
But what is the “nation” in Vietnam? It is not just an arbitrary land defined borders. No – according the regime’s own laws, it is defined as akin to the “people’s administration.” Since the Communist Party and the Nation are effectively the same under the law, an attack on the Party becomes treasonous. Indeed, the law makes “no distinction between violent acts such as terrorism, and the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression,” the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights report reads.
Moreover, what is a “citizen” in Vietnam? And if it is to be treasonous to attack the Party, and thereby the Nation, does this mean the person who wishes the end of the Party is not a citizen? When France did away with the peine de mort in the early 1980s, Francois Mitterrand’s Minister of Justice said the scaffold had come to symbolize “a totalitarian concept of the relationship between the citizen and the state.” It is this same totalitarian relationship that knots capital punishment and human rights in Vietnam.
What also catches the eye is the hubristic nature of Hanoi’s release of the execution figures, coming as they do as criticism of the regime increases. They might be better read as a boast, not an admission. The overriding message is: We are prepared to kill, and have done so more than most people thought.
Following the 2013 meeting between Obama and Sang, some pundits thought Obama’s ambition was to embolden Vietnam’s reformist politicians through diplomatic engagement and improved trade links. This became America’s foreign policy towards Hanoi for the next three years. It didn’t work, however, and suppression has remained as essential as ever for the Communist Party, perhaps even more so, especially as criticism of the Party’s rule nowadays swells on issues such an environmentalism.
So while Vietnam’s economy has flourished since Obama’s rapprochement, its civil society has languished somewhere between desperation and enviable bravery. Obama’s administration bears responsibility for this, and the strategic patience it gambled on played only into Hanoi’s hands. Naive, perhaps. Or just willfully remiss, as Vietnam’s amity was necessary for America’s counter-Beijing Asian ‘pivot’. Maybe, then, Vietnam’s activists were jettisoned for the sake of geopolitics – an unexceptional component of America’s Janus-faced foreign policy.
Today, however, U.S. trade links are far from assured. U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the TPP has jeopardized the free-trade bounty Hanoi was counting on. Vietnam now appears keen to formalize a bilateral free-trade agreement with the US, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said last month that he wants to visit Washington as soon as possible
In a perverse situation, Trump’s administration now wields the stick that Obama chose not to use. Moreover, it has the ability to bargain in a way Obama couldn’t: No trade pact without improved human rights. Since the Communist Party’s legitimacy depends on a growing economy – and a fifth of all Vietnam’s export are to the United States, which could be further hampered if Trump pushes through trade tariffs and increased taxes on imports – Hanoi might be strong-armed into opening up space for criticism, in return for the United States opening more trade links.
Still, this depends on how much Trump values a human-rights laden foreign policy, which some analysts claim he doesn’t. That said, the State Department’s decision to give the imprisoned Vietnamese activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh the “International Women of Courage Award” certainly irked Hanoi.
Perhaps this explains the adroit use of executions statistics by the Vietnamese regime, and the appropriate timing of their release. The numbers will raise hairs in Europe; the European Union (EU) bars membership for countries with capital punishment, though not for countries with which it agrees free-trade agreements, it seems. The EU-Vietnam FTA that should become effective next year but contains no condition regarding Vietnam abolishing the death penalty (surely patronizing, given that the EU has higher expectations of European countries than others).
The execution figures, however, put the United States in an awkward position. It cannot condemn Vietnam when it is still a practitioner in capital punishment, as well as the loudest proponent of drug prohibition internationally, too. As is to be expected, the White House has been silent on the matter. If the Washington can stomach the totalitarian ethos behind Vietnam’s capital punishment then why can’t it overlook Vietnam’s human right’s record, Hanoi may well argue. Indeed, the moral lecturer on human rights has the mirror turned on it when capital punishment arises.
One might assume, then, that with little international support for capital punishment abolition in Vietnam, the cogs will no doubt continue rotating on the death machine, at least until a true separation between the Nation and the Party, and between the State and the Citizen, takes place.
Saturday, 25 February 2017
Vietnam to build five more lethal injection venues
Source: DTI News (9 February 2017)
http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/017/49419/vietnam-to-build-five-more-lethal-injection-venues.html
Five more venues to facilitate lethal injections will be built in Vietnam in the coming time according to the Ministry of Public Security.
A report from the ministry showed that since the first execution carried out using lethal injection in August 2013, 429 prisoners on death row had been executed by this method by July 2016 at five facilities in Hanoi, HCM City, Nghe An, Son La, and Dak Lak.
The National Assembly amended the Penal Code in 1999 and 2009 in which the number of death-eligible crimes were reduced from 44 to 22. However, the number of death sentences, especially in crimes relating to drugs, murder, and rape, has not declined for many reasons, the report said.
There were 1,134 criminals given death sentences in five years between July 1st, 2011 and June 30th, 2016.
According to the ministry, there have been many difficulties in carrying out executions using lethal injection instead of firing squads during the trial period, especially in obtaining lethal drugs and relieving the pressure of holding hundreds of death row inmates in prison.
"But this is certainly a more humane method of execution which causes less pain to the convicted and their family, and relieves pressure on executors, the ministry claimed.
The injection will contain three substances -- sodium thiopental, an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant; and potassium chloride to stop the heart.
http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/017/49419/vietnam-to-build-five-more-lethal-injection-venues.html
Five more venues to facilitate lethal injections will be built in Vietnam in the coming time according to the Ministry of Public Security.
A report from the ministry showed that since the first execution carried out using lethal injection in August 2013, 429 prisoners on death row had been executed by this method by July 2016 at five facilities in Hanoi, HCM City, Nghe An, Son La, and Dak Lak.
The National Assembly amended the Penal Code in 1999 and 2009 in which the number of death-eligible crimes were reduced from 44 to 22. However, the number of death sentences, especially in crimes relating to drugs, murder, and rape, has not declined for many reasons, the report said.
There were 1,134 criminals given death sentences in five years between July 1st, 2011 and June 30th, 2016.
According to the ministry, there have been many difficulties in carrying out executions using lethal injection instead of firing squads during the trial period, especially in obtaining lethal drugs and relieving the pressure of holding hundreds of death row inmates in prison.
"But this is certainly a more humane method of execution which causes less pain to the convicted and their family, and relieves pressure on executors, the ministry claimed.
The injection will contain three substances -- sodium thiopental, an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxant; and potassium chloride to stop the heart.
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Death penalty ends in some cases
Source: Viet Nam News (12 January 2016)
http://vietnamnews.vn/opinion/281039/death-penalty-ends-in-some-cases.html
Nguyen Van Hoan, deputy head of the group compiling revisions to the 2015 Penal Code, spoke to Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) about changes relating to capital punishment.
How do you respond to a change to the 2015 Penal Code that says the death penalty will not apply for officials who pay back at least 75 per cent of illicitly obtained profits?
This is regulated in Point C, Clause 3 in Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code. Some people think this is too lenient, but in my opinion, it is not.
The most severe penalty for the crimes of embezzlement and bribery was capital punishment under the previous Penal Code. During discussions regarding revisions to this law, legislators agreed to keep capital punishment as deterrent for the two crimes, but reduce it to life imprisonment if the criminal is able to pay back at least 75 per cent of the profits they illicitly obtained.
Can current prisoners be given amnesty if they repent and adhere to the new law?
These cases will be treated carefully. The criteria for considering whether they should be granted amnesty would be much stricter and tougher than for other prisoners serving life sentences. For example, lifers could have their sentence reduced to 20 years for good behaviour.
If a death sentence is reduced to life imprisonment, they must serve at least 30 years.
As I have mentioned above, officials convicted of corruption could be spared if they pay back at least 75 per cent of the profits they illicitly obtained. In addition, there are other requirements that these prisoners would have to meet, including helping authorities to conduct investigations into other corruption cases.
If an official stole VND100 billion (US$4.45 million) and received the death sentence, they could pay back 75 per cent and have their sentence reduced. What would happen to the other VND25 billon ($1.11 million)?
Under the 2015 Penal Code, any public official who illegally obtains VND1 billion upwards could receive capital punishment. Point C, Clause 3 of Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code applies to all prisoners who receive death sentences relating to corruption, regard less of the amount of money. However, during their prison terms, they may enjoy clemency for good behaviour. — VNS
Nguyen Van Hoan, deputy head of the group compiling revisions to the 2015 Penal Code, spoke to Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) about changes relating to capital punishment.
How do you respond to a change to the 2015 Penal Code that says the death penalty will not apply for officials who pay back at least 75 per cent of illicitly obtained profits?
This is regulated in Point C, Clause 3 in Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code. Some people think this is too lenient, but in my opinion, it is not.
The most severe penalty for the crimes of embezzlement and bribery was capital punishment under the previous Penal Code. During discussions regarding revisions to this law, legislators agreed to keep capital punishment as deterrent for the two crimes, but reduce it to life imprisonment if the criminal is able to pay back at least 75 per cent of the profits they illicitly obtained.
Can current prisoners be given amnesty if they repent and adhere to the new law?
These cases will be treated carefully. The criteria for considering whether they should be granted amnesty would be much stricter and tougher than for other prisoners serving life sentences. For example, lifers could have their sentence reduced to 20 years for good behaviour.
If a death sentence is reduced to life imprisonment, they must serve at least 30 years.
As I have mentioned above, officials convicted of corruption could be spared if they pay back at least 75 per cent of the profits they illicitly obtained. In addition, there are other requirements that these prisoners would have to meet, including helping authorities to conduct investigations into other corruption cases.
If an official stole VND100 billion (US$4.45 million) and received the death sentence, they could pay back 75 per cent and have their sentence reduced. What would happen to the other VND25 billon ($1.11 million)?
Under the 2015 Penal Code, any public official who illegally obtains VND1 billion upwards could receive capital punishment. Point C, Clause 3 of Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code applies to all prisoners who receive death sentences relating to corruption, regard less of the amount of money. However, during their prison terms, they may enjoy clemency for good behaviour. — VNS
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Compassionate Communists
Source: The Economist (20 June 2015)
ONE ordinary farmer, Nguyen Thanh Chan, is now a celebrity in Vietnam. In 2004 he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a woman in Nghia Trung, a village north-east of Hanoi, the capital. Yet he was released in 2013 after a neighbour, confronted with evidence, confessed to the crime. Earlier this month the country’s Supreme People’s Court announced that it would pay Mr Chan $360,000—many times what he would earn in a lifetime—as compensation for his nightmare.
The day after the announcement Mr Chan welcomed reporters to his one-storey farmhouse. He said that after his arrest police roughed him up and forced him to make a false confession. Had it not been for his wife’s long-shot campaign to clear his name, he might still be rotting in prison.
As in China, death-penalty statistics in Vietnam are state secrets. But Amnesty International, a rights group, says that at least three prisoners were executed last year and more than 700 face possible execution. Of the 72 who were sentenced to death in 2014 alone, four-fifths were found guilty of drug trafficking.Mr Chan’s case comes as the Vietnamese government attempts to reform the criminal-justice system. Proposed changes to the penal and criminal-procedure codes were discussed this week in the National Assembly, Vietnam’s tame parliament. In part, the Communist Party seems to be pursuing change as an easy way to curry favour with Western governments at a time when Vietnam faces heightened tensions with neighbouring China. Yet the reforms seem to be gathering a momentum of their own, including over capital punishment.
Now the assembly is debating whether to cut the number of crimes for which the death penalty applies to 15 from 22. Stealing and disobeying military orders would no longer be capital offences. Drug trafficking will remain one for now. Yet a Western diplomat in Hanoi who follows legal matters thinks that it, too, could go within a year. He adds that if that happened, Vietnam’s stance on capital punishment would instantly become among the most enlightened in South-East Asia. Only the Philippines has abolished it altogether.
Yet whatever the assembly decides, Vietnam’s criminal-justice system will remain deeply flawed. The criminal-procedure code permits harsh interrogation tactics, while the penal code is littered with clauses that criminalise, on grounds of national security, vaguely defined activities such as “conducting propaganda against the state”. In court, the judge is almost always a Communist Party member, while the two jurors who flank him typically have ties to the security state. Most prisoners who attempt to kick against the system are silenced. In one well-known example, Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic priest, accused the police and the court of practising the “law of the jungle”, whereupon a courtroom officer clamped a hand over his mouth. As for death row, inmates there are not told when their executions will take place, while questions swirl around how the executions are conducted. Four years ago the government gave up firing squads in favour of lethal injections. But because of a European Union ban on selling lethal-injection drugs, it switched to home-grown varieties. Doctors have been coerced into administering them.
But at least lawmakers are beginning to acknowledge irregularities in state prosecutors’ work. One controversial case they are reviewing concerns Ho Duy Hai, a man in the southern province of Long An who was convicted of murder in 2008. The evidence against him looks questionable. In December Vietnam’s president, Truong Tan Sang, suspended Mr Hai’s execution after behind-the-scenes pressure from Western diplomats.
Meanwhile, though the farmer, Nguyen Thanh Chan, still believes that the system broadly works, he wonders aloud if all crimes are being properly investigated. In his own case, the only reason the courts finally paid attention to his pleas of innocence was that his wife became an amateur gumshoe. After months of sleuthing, she showed up at the justice ministry, grabbed a bureaucrat by the collar and demanded the right to present reams of overlooked evidence. The ministry should give her a job.
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Viet Nam: Hundreds at risk after 'deplorable' resumption of executions
Source: Amnesty International (6 August 2013)
https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2013/08/viet-nam-hundreds-risk-after-deplorable-resumption-executions/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2013/08/viet-nam-hundreds-risk-after-deplorable-resumption-executions/
The first execution in Viet Nam in more than 18 months is outrageous and puts hundreds of death row prisoners at risk, Amnesty International said.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, convicted for murder in 2010, was reportedly executed today in the Ha Noi Police prison through lethal injection – the first execution in the country since around January 2012.
Tighter EU regulations on the export of the drugs needed for lethal injections meant that Viet Nam did not carry out any executions during this period, but a new law that came into effect on 27 June 2013 states that Viet Nam can now use drugs produced outside the EU or domestically.
According to media reports, there are currently 586 people on death row in Viet Nam, of which at least 116 have exhausted their final legal appeals.
“It is deplorable that Viet Nam has resumed executions and reflects a ruthless determination by the authorities to continue using the death penalty,” said Isabelle Arradon, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.
“These state sanctioned killings have to stop. The Vietnamese government should have used the suspension of executions imposed by EU export regulations to review its use of capital punishment and move away from the death penalty altogether.”
With so many lives at risk of immediate executions, the government must immediately halt any plans to put more prisoners to death.
“Amnesty International sympathizes with the victims of serious crime who deserve justice, but there is no evidence that the death penalty works as a particular deterrent. The death penalty is the ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment and a clear violation of human rights.”
“Viet Nam is out of step with the rest of the world when it comes to the death penalty. Only 21 countries carried out executions in 2012 and other South-East Asian countries have been reviewing their death penalty laws and restricting the use of capital punishment. Viet Nam should be exploring alternative solutions rather than overseeing the state killing of hundreds of men and women,” said Isabelle Arradon.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Appeal: End death penalty in East Asia
The Centre for Prisoners' Rights and Amnesty International Japan continue to appeal for people to sign their petition and distribute it widely, calling for the abolition of the death penalty in East Asia.
Please print and sign the petition available here. The text of the petition is copied below.
Citizens’ Appeal for an Abolition of the Death Penalty in East Asia
December 2009
To:
People’s Republic of China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, State of Mongolia, Taiwan
(CC: Republic of Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China)
In 2008, most of the executions in the world were carried out in Asia. 11 countries in Asia as a whole, and five countries in East Asia, namely, China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam, continue to have the death penalty.
China alone accounts for about three quarters of the executions in the world and at least 1,718 death sentences were carried out.
In China, statistics on the death penalty and executions are a state secret, so the actual number is considered to be significantly higher than that.
In Vietnam, the death penalty is stipulated as the maximum sentence for a total of 29 offences defined in the criminal code, including illicit drug trafficking. Executions are by firing squad.
In Japan, there are currently more than 100 death-row inmates awaiting their executions. Executions by hanging in Japan are carried out secretively and the death-row inmates are notified of their execution only immediately before they take place.
In the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, executions are either by firing squad or by hanging. Executions are conducted secretively but there is an indication that public executions are conducted for the purpose of making an example to the people.
In Mongolia, executions are a state secret and official statistics, such as the numbers of death sentences, executions, and death-row inmates, are not disclosed. Executions are conducted secretively. The family members of the death-row inmate are not notified of the execution beforehand. After the execution, the body is not returned to the family.
On the other hand, as of 2009, 139 states in the world have abolished the death penalty. In Asia as a whole, 27 states, such as the Philippines and Cambodia, have abolished the death penalty either de jure or de facto.
In the 20th century, many lives were taken in East Asia by the state or because of ideology. The death penalty has been used to impose the will of the state and as a tool of political repression. The state is still taking away the lives of the citizens by way of the death penalty. To put an end to this situation, East Asian states should renounce the state-sponsored violence known as the death penalty.
There are no empirical data verifying that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on heinous crimes. On the contrary, it is pointed out that the death penalty promotes violence.
In any country, those that are sentenced to death are skewed to vulnerable groups in the society, such as those in poverty and minorities. What gives rise to crimes in many cases is often poverty and social discrimination. Removing offenders from society by the death penalty does not solve the problem.
Having recognized the issues inherent in the death penalty system, we the signers below are petitioning for the realization of an East Asia without the death penalty.
We hereby request that:
* the taking of lives not be used as a means of punishment;
* the innocent not be killed;
* information be disclosed so that we can think for ourselves whether the death penalty is necessary;
* those that have erred not be cast away; and
* a society with few crimes be created without relying on the death penalty.
We the citizens hope for a truly peaceful society. We the citizens hope for a society without the death penalty. We the citizens hope for a tolerant society. Please heed our voices, the voices of the citizens.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Taking note of the significance of the 20th anniversary, we call on the East Asian states that retain capital punishment to abolish the death penalty system.
Signature:
Message:
The petition organized and collected by:
The "We Can Do Without the Death Penalty" Campaign
Joint Secretariat:
Center for Prisoners' Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan
Kyodo Bldg. 4F, 2-2 Kandanishiki-cho, chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 101-0054
E-mail: petition_adp@amnesty.or.jp
Fax +81-3-3518-6778
HP: http://www.abolish-dp.jca.apc.org/
The “We Can Do Without the Death Penalty” campaign was launched in 2008 in Japan, aiming to raise a voice and to think together about what is wrong with the death penalty, setting aside various differences. The Center for Prisoners’ Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan serve as the joint secretariat and various other organizations, individuals, and networks participate in this campaign.
Please print and sign the petition available here. The text of the petition is copied below.
Citizens’ Appeal for an Abolition of the Death Penalty in East Asia
December 2009
To:
People’s Republic of China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, State of Mongolia, Taiwan
(CC: Republic of Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China)
In 2008, most of the executions in the world were carried out in Asia. 11 countries in Asia as a whole, and five countries in East Asia, namely, China, Japan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam, continue to have the death penalty.
China alone accounts for about three quarters of the executions in the world and at least 1,718 death sentences were carried out.
In China, statistics on the death penalty and executions are a state secret, so the actual number is considered to be significantly higher than that.
In Vietnam, the death penalty is stipulated as the maximum sentence for a total of 29 offences defined in the criminal code, including illicit drug trafficking. Executions are by firing squad.
In Japan, there are currently more than 100 death-row inmates awaiting their executions. Executions by hanging in Japan are carried out secretively and the death-row inmates are notified of their execution only immediately before they take place.
In the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, executions are either by firing squad or by hanging. Executions are conducted secretively but there is an indication that public executions are conducted for the purpose of making an example to the people.
In Mongolia, executions are a state secret and official statistics, such as the numbers of death sentences, executions, and death-row inmates, are not disclosed. Executions are conducted secretively. The family members of the death-row inmate are not notified of the execution beforehand. After the execution, the body is not returned to the family.
On the other hand, as of 2009, 139 states in the world have abolished the death penalty. In Asia as a whole, 27 states, such as the Philippines and Cambodia, have abolished the death penalty either de jure or de facto.
In the 20th century, many lives were taken in East Asia by the state or because of ideology. The death penalty has been used to impose the will of the state and as a tool of political repression. The state is still taking away the lives of the citizens by way of the death penalty. To put an end to this situation, East Asian states should renounce the state-sponsored violence known as the death penalty.
There are no empirical data verifying that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on heinous crimes. On the contrary, it is pointed out that the death penalty promotes violence.
In any country, those that are sentenced to death are skewed to vulnerable groups in the society, such as those in poverty and minorities. What gives rise to crimes in many cases is often poverty and social discrimination. Removing offenders from society by the death penalty does not solve the problem.
Having recognized the issues inherent in the death penalty system, we the signers below are petitioning for the realization of an East Asia without the death penalty.
We hereby request that:
* the taking of lives not be used as a means of punishment;
* the innocent not be killed;
* information be disclosed so that we can think for ourselves whether the death penalty is necessary;
* those that have erred not be cast away; and
* a society with few crimes be created without relying on the death penalty.
We the citizens hope for a truly peaceful society. We the citizens hope for a society without the death penalty. We the citizens hope for a tolerant society. Please heed our voices, the voices of the citizens.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Taking note of the significance of the 20th anniversary, we call on the East Asian states that retain capital punishment to abolish the death penalty system.
Signature:
Message:
The petition organized and collected by:
The "We Can Do Without the Death Penalty" Campaign
Joint Secretariat:
Center for Prisoners' Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan
Kyodo Bldg. 4F, 2-2 Kandanishiki-cho, chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 101-0054
E-mail: petition_adp@amnesty.or.jp
Fax +81-3-3518-6778
HP: http://www.abolish-dp.jca.apc.org/
The “We Can Do Without the Death Penalty” campaign was launched in 2008 in Japan, aiming to raise a voice and to think together about what is wrong with the death penalty, setting aside various differences. The Center for Prisoners’ Rights Japan and Amnesty International Japan serve as the joint secretariat and various other organizations, individuals, and networks participate in this campaign.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Viet Nam: Blogger may face death penalty
Blogger and activist faces possible death penalty
Published on 14 December 2009
Statement from Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is deeply concerned about French-educated blogger and pro-democracy activist Nguyen Tien Trung, now facing a possible death penalty under article 79 of the criminal code after the charges against him were changed to "trying to overthrow the people’s government." Arrested more than five months ago, he is due to be tried at the end of the month.
"We call for Nguyen Tien Trung’s immediate and unconditional release as the charges against him are entirely fabricated," Reporters Without Borders said. "Trung is a pacifist who has never endangered the Vietnamese state. He just exercised his right to free expression, a right he learned to use in France."
The press freedom organisation added: "Trung is a scapegoat. The authorities want to make an example of him in order to intimidate other Vietnamese students who want to press for more freedom when they return home after studying abroad."
Trung’s family told Reporters Without Borders that his father was allowed to visit him on 10 December for the second time since his arrest. The authorities are reportedly now going to allow his family to visit him once a month. Trung seemed to be in good physical and psychological condition and did his best to reassure his father. He asked his father to bring him books, especially economics and French books. The authorities are considering the request.
A former student at the National Institute for Applied Sciences (INSA) in the northern French city of Rennes, where he got a masters in information technology, Trung was arrested at his parents’ home in Ho Chi Minh City on 7 July on a charge of propaganda against the state under article 88 of the criminal code. A government TV station broadcast taped footage in which he made a confession.
He seems to have been arrested because of the pro-democracy views he posted online and, in particular, an open letter to the government about education policies.
The Trung support committee website posted an opinion piece by Philippe Echart, who was one of Trung’s teachers at the INSA.
"It is strange for a teacher to realise that one his students, which whom he had a few talks and to whom he paid special attention because he was a foreigner, is now being in prison at the other end of the world, in his own country, on serious charges," Echard writes. "And why is he in prison? For expressing his views freely. For criticising university education in Vietnam. For calling for more freedoms and more democracy, as many other intellectuals in his country have."
The support committee is calling for a determined campaign on his behalf. "The worst that could happen to Trung is that people gradually forget him," the committee’s appeal says. Trung’s friends and family have relaunched the campaign for his release. Sign a petition at the http://freetrung.tk website.
Published on 14 December 2009
Statement from Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is deeply concerned about French-educated blogger and pro-democracy activist Nguyen Tien Trung, now facing a possible death penalty under article 79 of the criminal code after the charges against him were changed to "trying to overthrow the people’s government." Arrested more than five months ago, he is due to be tried at the end of the month.
"We call for Nguyen Tien Trung’s immediate and unconditional release as the charges against him are entirely fabricated," Reporters Without Borders said. "Trung is a pacifist who has never endangered the Vietnamese state. He just exercised his right to free expression, a right he learned to use in France."
The press freedom organisation added: "Trung is a scapegoat. The authorities want to make an example of him in order to intimidate other Vietnamese students who want to press for more freedom when they return home after studying abroad."
Trung’s family told Reporters Without Borders that his father was allowed to visit him on 10 December for the second time since his arrest. The authorities are reportedly now going to allow his family to visit him once a month. Trung seemed to be in good physical and psychological condition and did his best to reassure his father. He asked his father to bring him books, especially economics and French books. The authorities are considering the request.
A former student at the National Institute for Applied Sciences (INSA) in the northern French city of Rennes, where he got a masters in information technology, Trung was arrested at his parents’ home in Ho Chi Minh City on 7 July on a charge of propaganda against the state under article 88 of the criminal code. A government TV station broadcast taped footage in which he made a confession.
He seems to have been arrested because of the pro-democracy views he posted online and, in particular, an open letter to the government about education policies.
The Trung support committee website posted an opinion piece by Philippe Echart, who was one of Trung’s teachers at the INSA.
"It is strange for a teacher to realise that one his students, which whom he had a few talks and to whom he paid special attention because he was a foreigner, is now being in prison at the other end of the world, in his own country, on serious charges," Echard writes. "And why is he in prison? For expressing his views freely. For criticising university education in Vietnam. For calling for more freedoms and more democracy, as many other intellectuals in his country have."
The support committee is calling for a determined campaign on his behalf. "The worst that could happen to Trung is that people gradually forget him," the committee’s appeal says. Trung’s friends and family have relaunched the campaign for his release. Sign a petition at the http://freetrung.tk website.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Viet Nam: Death penalty reduction debated
Deputies in Viet Nam's national assembly (NA) have debated a proposal to reduce the number of capital crimes, including for corruption, bribery and producing fake drugs.
According to Thanh Nien News, the current session of the NA considered an amended draft criminal code, which would see the death sentence removed from 17 of the current 29 capital offences.
NA deputies spoke against removing the death penalty for these offences at sittings on 7 November.
"It is necessary to retain death sentences for embezzlement and bribery to prevent people from engaging in the crimes, as our fight against corruption is now very fierce," said Nguyen Dang Trung, NA deputy and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association.
Earlier in the week, judicial committee chairwoman Le Thi Thu Ba said the death penalty was necessary for bribery and corruption because they were "a national disaster".
The Thanh Nien report said deputies told the NA the death penalty should not be removed from crimes such as manufacturing counterfeit food and pharmaceutical products, because "it could affect human life on a large scale, hinder smooth economic growth and cause other serious consequences".
Other deputies argued it would not be reasonable to remove the death sentence for crimes against humanity and national security, when an offender could be executed for killing one person.
The reported comments left open the possibility that the death penalty could be removed for other offences on the proposed list, including for rape, fraud, smuggling and organising the illegal use of drugs.
"Developmental" need to kill
Presenters at a seminar in October argued the death penalty was necessary to deal with "extremely dangerous crimes", particularly given the country's current stage of development.
The VNA news service reported the workshop, organised by Vietnam's Institute of State and Law and Germany's KAS Institute, discussed the use of the death penalty and the possibility of abolition.
It reported that unnamed legal experts pointed to "the experiences of some countries at a similar developmental level to Vietnam" to argue the death penalty was needed to deter potential criminals against "certain crimes".
"They agreed that the abolition of the death penalty should follow a road map with specific steps depending on certain social conditions," the report said.
This is similar to the argument used by senior officials in China, who have argued the county needed to achieve a certain level of development before it could abolish the death penalty.
Notwithstanding this argument, the officials have been unable to point to evidence that the death penalty provides a greater degree of deterrence than other, less severe, punishments.
Ministry proposal
Vietnamese media reported in July that the Ministry of Public Security recommended the death penalty be abolished for 12 crimes, including smuggling, trading in false products and hijacking (ADP story here).
VietNamNet reported a recommendation would be made to the National Assembly to amend the Criminal Code to limit the penalty to what the paper described as "only to those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
"The aim of the amendment is to make the country’s criminal code more compliant with world trends to humanise laws and completely abolish the death penalty," said Nguyen Ngoc Anh, head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Public Security.
In 1999, the number of offences attracting a death sentence was reduced from 44 to 29 offences.
VietNamNet said 116 people were sentenced to death in 2006 and 95 in 2007, although it did not confirm how many people were actually executed.
The July VietNamNet report said the full list included: appropriating property by fraud; smuggling; producing and trading fake food and medical products; being involved in producing, storing and circulating counterfeit money, bonds and cheques; organising the illegal use of drugs; hijacking aeroplanes or ships; corruption; taking and giving bribes; destroying army weapons or technical equipment; being involved in an invasion; anti-human crimes and those convicted of war crimes.
Human rights call
On 10 November Amnesty International encouraged Vietnamese authorities to "carry out the proposed reforms and introduce a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty".
It said Vietname authorities did not allow international standards for fair trials to be followed in practice.
"Legal counsel is often assigned to defendants at the last minute, allowing little pre-trial preparation," the organisation said.
"The defence is not always allowed to call or question witnesses, and private consultation with counsel may be limited.
"In many cases, all the defence counsel can do is plead for clemency."
Related stories:
Viet Nam: Reduction in death penalty offences? -- 23 July 2008
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November 2006
According to Thanh Nien News, the current session of the NA considered an amended draft criminal code, which would see the death sentence removed from 17 of the current 29 capital offences.
NA deputies spoke against removing the death penalty for these offences at sittings on 7 November.
"It is necessary to retain death sentences for embezzlement and bribery to prevent people from engaging in the crimes, as our fight against corruption is now very fierce," said Nguyen Dang Trung, NA deputy and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association.
Earlier in the week, judicial committee chairwoman Le Thi Thu Ba said the death penalty was necessary for bribery and corruption because they were "a national disaster".
The Thanh Nien report said deputies told the NA the death penalty should not be removed from crimes such as manufacturing counterfeit food and pharmaceutical products, because "it could affect human life on a large scale, hinder smooth economic growth and cause other serious consequences".
Other deputies argued it would not be reasonable to remove the death sentence for crimes against humanity and national security, when an offender could be executed for killing one person.
The reported comments left open the possibility that the death penalty could be removed for other offences on the proposed list, including for rape, fraud, smuggling and organising the illegal use of drugs.
"Developmental" need to kill
Presenters at a seminar in October argued the death penalty was necessary to deal with "extremely dangerous crimes", particularly given the country's current stage of development.
The VNA news service reported the workshop, organised by Vietnam's Institute of State and Law and Germany's KAS Institute, discussed the use of the death penalty and the possibility of abolition.
It reported that unnamed legal experts pointed to "the experiences of some countries at a similar developmental level to Vietnam" to argue the death penalty was needed to deter potential criminals against "certain crimes".
"They agreed that the abolition of the death penalty should follow a road map with specific steps depending on certain social conditions," the report said.
This is similar to the argument used by senior officials in China, who have argued the county needed to achieve a certain level of development before it could abolish the death penalty.
Notwithstanding this argument, the officials have been unable to point to evidence that the death penalty provides a greater degree of deterrence than other, less severe, punishments.
Ministry proposal
Vietnamese media reported in July that the Ministry of Public Security recommended the death penalty be abolished for 12 crimes, including smuggling, trading in false products and hijacking (ADP story here).
VietNamNet reported a recommendation would be made to the National Assembly to amend the Criminal Code to limit the penalty to what the paper described as "only to those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
"The aim of the amendment is to make the country’s criminal code more compliant with world trends to humanise laws and completely abolish the death penalty," said Nguyen Ngoc Anh, head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Public Security.
In 1999, the number of offences attracting a death sentence was reduced from 44 to 29 offences.
VietNamNet said 116 people were sentenced to death in 2006 and 95 in 2007, although it did not confirm how many people were actually executed.
The July VietNamNet report said the full list included: appropriating property by fraud; smuggling; producing and trading fake food and medical products; being involved in producing, storing and circulating counterfeit money, bonds and cheques; organising the illegal use of drugs; hijacking aeroplanes or ships; corruption; taking and giving bribes; destroying army weapons or technical equipment; being involved in an invasion; anti-human crimes and those convicted of war crimes.
Human rights call
On 10 November Amnesty International encouraged Vietnamese authorities to "carry out the proposed reforms and introduce a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty".
It said Vietname authorities did not allow international standards for fair trials to be followed in practice.
"Legal counsel is often assigned to defendants at the last minute, allowing little pre-trial preparation," the organisation said.
"The defence is not always allowed to call or question witnesses, and private consultation with counsel may be limited.
"In many cases, all the defence counsel can do is plead for clemency."
Related stories:
Viet Nam: Reduction in death penalty offences? -- 23 July 2008
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November 2006
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Two Australians spared in Viet Nam
Viet Nam has granted clemency to two Australian citizens who were sentenced to death for drug offences.
The announcement brings to seven the number of Vietnamese-Australians spared execution since 2003.
Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced the decision at a joint media conference with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd at Parliament House in Canberra on 13 October.
"[B]uilding upon the excellent friendship between our two countries and on humanitarian grounds, I've informed the Prime Minister, the Vietnamese President has decided to grant clemency to two Vietnamese Australians charged with drug trafficking," he said.
The decision spares the lives of Jasmine Luong and Tony Manh, who now face the prospect of life in Viet Nam's notoriously harsh prison system.
Tony Manh applied for clemency after an appeal court confirmed his death sentence in November 2007 for heroin trafficking.
Jasmine Luong was given a death sentence in March 2008 when prosecutors appealed the original life sentence imposed in December last year.
Luong claimed she only agreed to carry the nearly 1.5 kilograms of heroin that was found hidden in her luggage and shoes in order to pay her estranged husband's gambling debts.
Five other Australian citizens in Viet Nam have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment since 2003, all for drug-related offences.
In each case the Australian government has supported applications for clemency and made representations appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
'Close ties'
During the media conference, both leaders paid tribute to the ties between the two countries, saying bilateral trade was now worth about $7 billion per year.
Dung said through an interpreter that the two countries had developed "good cooperation in such areas as politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, investment, tourism, education and training, culture, defence, security and many others".
Related stories:
Viet Nam: Life, and death, sentences for drugs -- 30 April 2008
Drug penalty violates international law -- 6 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February 2006
The announcement brings to seven the number of Vietnamese-Australians spared execution since 2003.
Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced the decision at a joint media conference with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd at Parliament House in Canberra on 13 October.
"[B]uilding upon the excellent friendship between our two countries and on humanitarian grounds, I've informed the Prime Minister, the Vietnamese President has decided to grant clemency to two Vietnamese Australians charged with drug trafficking," he said.
The decision spares the lives of Jasmine Luong and Tony Manh, who now face the prospect of life in Viet Nam's notoriously harsh prison system.
Tony Manh applied for clemency after an appeal court confirmed his death sentence in November 2007 for heroin trafficking.
Jasmine Luong was given a death sentence in March 2008 when prosecutors appealed the original life sentence imposed in December last year.
Luong claimed she only agreed to carry the nearly 1.5 kilograms of heroin that was found hidden in her luggage and shoes in order to pay her estranged husband's gambling debts.
Five other Australian citizens in Viet Nam have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment since 2003, all for drug-related offences.
In each case the Australian government has supported applications for clemency and made representations appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
'Close ties'
During the media conference, both leaders paid tribute to the ties between the two countries, saying bilateral trade was now worth about $7 billion per year.
Dung said through an interpreter that the two countries had developed "good cooperation in such areas as politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, investment, tourism, education and training, culture, defence, security and many others".
Related stories:
Viet Nam: Life, and death, sentences for drugs -- 30 April 2008
Drug penalty violates international law -- 6 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February 2006
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Global focus on Asia's executioners
The sixth World Day Against the Death Penalty, held this Friday 10 October 2008, is focusing on six countries which exemplify important issues in the region:
- Japan - secrecy and a lack of transparency
- Pakistan - unfair trials
- Viet Nam - with a high number of offences punishable by death
- India and Taiwan - encouraging the introduction of a moratorium, and
- South Korea - highlighting calls for abolition.
"In many cases, trials are unfair, the death penalty is used for a wide range of crimes, including non-violent ones (drug trafficking, embezzlement), and the lack of transparency characterizes the legal system in many countries,"it said.
The WCADP said however there were some positive changes in the region that raised hope for a "death penalty-free Asia".
"Over the last few years, the total numbers of death sentences and executions have decreased in Asia," it said in a statement.
"Periods of moratorium (i.e. the temporary suspension of executions) are longer and more frequent.
"Alongside these improvements, there are more and more organized Asian activists in favor of the abolition of the death penalty."
Think regionally, act globally
The campaign is centred on collecting signatures on a series of petitions targeting governments in the six countries.
Campaign events in Asia and around the world will raise awareness of the region's use of the death penalty and encourage the six countries to take specific steps towards abolition.
The 2007 World Day Against the Death Penalty helped build support for the United Nations (UN) resolution calling for a moratorium on executions. The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution by an overwhelming majority on 18 December 2007, with 104 member states voting in favour, 54 countries voting against and 29 abstentions.
Related stories:
Victims opposing the death penalty -- 10 October 2007
Sign the global petition against executions -- 3 September 2007
New voice against Asia's executions -- 10 October 2006
World Day call for Australian leadership -- 10 October 2006
Global protest against failure of justice -- 10 October 2006
Call to action on 10 October -- 4 September 2006
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Viet Nam: Reduction in death penalty offences?
Viet Nam is considering a further reduction in the number of crimes that attract the death penalty, according to a report last week by China's Xinhua newsagency.
The Vietnam News reportedly said on 15 July that the Ministry of Public Security had proposed the death penalty be removed from 12 offences.
Xinhua's report said the proposal would amend Article 35 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the death penalty.
The changes would limit its use to "only those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
The 12 offences included:
The Vietnam News reportedly said on 15 July that the Ministry of Public Security had proposed the death penalty be removed from 12 offences.
Xinhua's report said the proposal would amend Article 35 of the Criminal Code, which provides for the death penalty.
The changes would limit its use to "only those committing the most heinous crimes and people considered to be a serious danger to the community and the nation's security".
The 12 offences included:
- appropriating property by fraud
- smuggling
- producing and trading fake goods and medical products
- being involved in producing, storing and circulating counterfeit money, bonds and checks
- organising the illegal use of drugs
- hijacking planes or ships
- corruption
- taking and giving bribes
- destroying army weapons or technical equipment
- being involved in an invasion
- "anti-human crimes", and
- war crimes.
Gradual reductions
Human rights campaigners have long urged Viet Nam to reduce the scope of the death penalty.
After increasing the number of capital offences to 44 in 1992, Viet Nam reduced it to 29 offences in July 1999.
In April this year, Amnesty International said there were at least 25 known executions in Viet Nam in 2007, which placed it fourth on the list of the top executioners in the world.
Xinhua said Viet Nam sentenced 116 people to death in 2006 and 95 in 2007.
Dramatic increase but positive signs
In June 2006, an Amnesty International alert said there had been a "dramatic increase in Viet Nam's use of the death penalty, especially for drug-related crimes".
"Concern about the use of the death penalty in Viet Nam is compounded by the routine unfairness of trials that do not conform to international standards," the organisation said.
However, it said there were "some positive signs that the death penalty is being discussed within the Vietnamese government".
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Asia leads the world's known executions -- 15 April, 2008
20,000 waiting to be killed -- 23 April, 2006
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Viet Nam: Life, and death, sentences for drugs
In the past month, two Vietnamese-born western citizens have seen very different outcomes in appeals against their sentences for drug offences.
The legal charity Repreive announced in early April that UK citizen Le Manh Luong was granted clemency by President Nguyen Minh Triet.
Repreive led a high-profile campaign on behalf of Mr Luong, who was sentenced to death in November 2006.
He was convicted along with three Vietnamese defendants for trafficking 339 kilograms of heroin through Viet Nam to Hong Kong and China.
In contrast, in mid-March an appeal court increased to death the sentence given to Vietnamese-Australian Jasmine Luong, according to an AFP report.
Ms Luong was arrested in Tan Son Nhat airport in February 2007 with nearly 1.5 kilograms of heroin hidden in her luggage and shoes.
Prosecutors appealed against the original life sentence imposed in December 2007.
Clemency hope
She now has the right to appeal to the president for clemency, and the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister were expected to support an appeal.
The decision to grant clemency to Mr Luong should raise hopes that she would also be successful in having her death sentence overturned.
Five Australians have had their death sentences commuted in Viet Nam since 2003, in all five cases with the support of strong representations from the Australian government appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
Another Australian citizen, Tony Manh, is waiting for a response to his application for clemency, after an appeal court confirmed his death sentence in November 2007 for heroin trafficking.
'Debt forced decision'
According to the report by the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Luong was expected to argue in her application for clemency that she agreed to carry the drugs to pay her estranged husband's gambling debts.
The newspaper said she claimed she was offered $US15,000 (AUD$16,620) by an unidentified man to carry the drugs to Sydney, and given $US4700 payment in advance.
Her two children were being cared for by relatives in Sydney.
'What is heroin?'
According to information released by Reprieve, Mr Luong suffered from brain damage after his house was bombed by a US B-52 bomber during the Viet Nam War.
The organisation said he suffered from clinical depression and displayed suicidal tendencies, and his lawyer believed the other defendants used him as a scapegoat, knowing of his mental health issues.
Mr Luong reportedly asked the court during his trial questions such as: "What is heroin?" and "What is a weapon?"
His niece and family spokesperson, Thanh Le, said in a Reprieve statement that "he will [now] have the horrific ankle and wrist shackles removed".
"My uncle’s death sentence has put an incredible strain on the family but we have been overwhelmed by the support for him," she said.
The fate of Mr Luong's Vietnamese co-defendants has not been reported.
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November, 2006
Viet Nam: Take action against the death penalty -- 24 June, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
The legal charity Repreive announced in early April that UK citizen Le Manh Luong was granted clemency by President Nguyen Minh Triet.
Repreive led a high-profile campaign on behalf of Mr Luong, who was sentenced to death in November 2006.
He was convicted along with three Vietnamese defendants for trafficking 339 kilograms of heroin through Viet Nam to Hong Kong and China.
In contrast, in mid-March an appeal court increased to death the sentence given to Vietnamese-Australian Jasmine Luong, according to an AFP report.
Ms Luong was arrested in Tan Son Nhat airport in February 2007 with nearly 1.5 kilograms of heroin hidden in her luggage and shoes.
Prosecutors appealed against the original life sentence imposed in December 2007.
Clemency hope
She now has the right to appeal to the president for clemency, and the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister were expected to support an appeal.
The decision to grant clemency to Mr Luong should raise hopes that she would also be successful in having her death sentence overturned.
Five Australians have had their death sentences commuted in Viet Nam since 2003, in all five cases with the support of strong representations from the Australian government appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
Another Australian citizen, Tony Manh, is waiting for a response to his application for clemency, after an appeal court confirmed his death sentence in November 2007 for heroin trafficking.
'Debt forced decision'
According to the report by the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Luong was expected to argue in her application for clemency that she agreed to carry the drugs to pay her estranged husband's gambling debts.
The newspaper said she claimed she was offered $US15,000 (AUD$16,620) by an unidentified man to carry the drugs to Sydney, and given $US4700 payment in advance.
Her two children were being cared for by relatives in Sydney.
'What is heroin?'
According to information released by Reprieve, Mr Luong suffered from brain damage after his house was bombed by a US B-52 bomber during the Viet Nam War.
The organisation said he suffered from clinical depression and displayed suicidal tendencies, and his lawyer believed the other defendants used him as a scapegoat, knowing of his mental health issues.
Mr Luong reportedly asked the court during his trial questions such as: "What is heroin?" and "What is a weapon?"
His niece and family spokesperson, Thanh Le, said in a Reprieve statement that "he will [now] have the horrific ankle and wrist shackles removed".
"My uncle’s death sentence has put an incredible strain on the family but we have been overwhelmed by the support for him," she said.
The fate of Mr Luong's Vietnamese co-defendants has not been reported.
Related stories:
Drug penalty violates international law -- 06 May, 2007
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs" -- 25 November, 2006
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November, 2006
Viet Nam: Take action against the death penalty -- 24 June, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
Saturday, 25 November 2006
Viet Nam death penalty "not deterring drugs"
A Vietnamese parliamentary commission has admitted the death penalty is failing to deter drug crime, despite the large number of people executed for drug-related offences each year.
Thanh Nien News reported on 3 November that the National Assembly's Legal Commission also favoured reducing the number of crimes that attract the death penalty.
Legal Commission vice director Tran The Vuong said it acknowledged the deterrent effect of the death penalty was "not so significant".
"Though there have been a lot of death sentences for drug-related offenses, the number of drug criminals has increased," Tran The Vuong said on the fringes of the assembly's winter session.
"It would be more effective to discover and punish ringleaders," Tran The Vuong said.
According to the report by Thanh Nien News, about 100 people are executed by firing squad each year, most for drug-related offences.
The report said many people executed for drug offences were merely couriers who transported drugs because of their situation or in ignorance of the law.
Tran The Vuong said the commission favoured a reduction in the number of crimes carrying the death penalty, although he would not specify which crimes would remain capital offences.
"It is a major issue that needs thorough study," he said.
Proposed changes
Viet Nam amended its Criminal Code in 2000, reducing the number of capital offences from 44 to 29.
It was reported in February 2006 that the Ministry of Public Security proposed a further reduction from 29 to 20 offences.
A spokesperson for the judicial department of the Ministry of Public Security said a reduction would be "in tune with the general tendency around the world, which Vietnam should follow".
Amnesty International said the proposal, which was submitted to the judicial reform commission for consideration, "reportedly recommends that economic crimes such as fraud and embezzlement, smuggling, counterfeiting and bribery should no longer be capital offences".
Viet Nam has continued to sentence people to death for non-violent economic crimes, despite the view of UN human rights experts that "the death penalty should be eliminated for crimes such as economic crimes and drug-related offences".
In February 2006, state media reported on proposals to change the method of execution, replacing firing squads with lethal injection.
A Police Ministry study reportedly said lethal injection would "minimise the psychological difficulties for executioners".
Related stories:
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November, 2006
Viet Nam: Take action against the death penalty -- 24 June, 2006
Viet Nam easing the executioner's burden -- 26 February, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
death penalty, deterrence, drug trade, drugs, human rights, Viet Nam, Vietnam
Thanh Nien News reported on 3 November that the National Assembly's Legal Commission also favoured reducing the number of crimes that attract the death penalty.
Legal Commission vice director Tran The Vuong said it acknowledged the deterrent effect of the death penalty was "not so significant".
"Though there have been a lot of death sentences for drug-related offenses, the number of drug criminals has increased," Tran The Vuong said on the fringes of the assembly's winter session.
"It would be more effective to discover and punish ringleaders," Tran The Vuong said.
According to the report by Thanh Nien News, about 100 people are executed by firing squad each year, most for drug-related offences.
The report said many people executed for drug offences were merely couriers who transported drugs because of their situation or in ignorance of the law.
Tran The Vuong said the commission favoured a reduction in the number of crimes carrying the death penalty, although he would not specify which crimes would remain capital offences.
"It is a major issue that needs thorough study," he said.
Proposed changes
Viet Nam amended its Criminal Code in 2000, reducing the number of capital offences from 44 to 29.
It was reported in February 2006 that the Ministry of Public Security proposed a further reduction from 29 to 20 offences.
A spokesperson for the judicial department of the Ministry of Public Security said a reduction would be "in tune with the general tendency around the world, which Vietnam should follow".
Amnesty International said the proposal, which was submitted to the judicial reform commission for consideration, "reportedly recommends that economic crimes such as fraud and embezzlement, smuggling, counterfeiting and bribery should no longer be capital offences".
Viet Nam has continued to sentence people to death for non-violent economic crimes, despite the view of UN human rights experts that "the death penalty should be eliminated for crimes such as economic crimes and drug-related offences".
In February 2006, state media reported on proposals to change the method of execution, replacing firing squads with lethal injection.
A Police Ministry study reportedly said lethal injection would "minimise the psychological difficulties for executioners".
Related stories:
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam – 19 November, 2006
Viet Nam: Take action against the death penalty -- 24 June, 2006
Viet Nam easing the executioner's burden -- 26 February, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
death penalty, deterrence, drug trade, drugs, human rights, Viet Nam, Vietnam
Sunday, 19 November 2006
Another Australian spared in Viet Nam
A fifth Australian national has been spared execution in Viet Nam, rewarding Australian government appeals and its co-operation in joint drug operations.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced this week that the death sentence against Trinh Huu, 53, had been commuted to life imprisonment.
He said Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet commuted Trinh's death sentence following diplomatic representations from the Australian government.
As in previous cases, the Vietnamese government cited humanitarian grounds and their country's good relationship with Australia as reasons for the decision.
Trinh was sentenced to death in December last year for trafficking about 2 kilograms of heroin. He was arrested near the Vietnam-Cambodia border in December 2004.
The Age newspaper reported in February this year that Trinh was arrested by Vietnamese police working with the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
A spokesperson for Justice Minister Chris Ellison confirmed that Trinh's arrest "was the result of co-operation between Australian and Vietnamese authorities regarding a large drug syndicate".
The AFP has been criticised for its co-operation with Indonesian police, following the April 2005 arrest of a group of Australian citizens known as the "Bali 9". The AFP provided crucial information that led to the monitoring, arrest and prosecution of the group for trying to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Australia.
Six members of the Bali 9 have been sentenced to death for drug smuggling offences.
Clemency for foreign nationals
Five Australians have had their death sentences commuted in Viet Nam since 2003. In all five cases the Australian government made strong representations to the government of Viet Nam appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
In February 2006 President Tran Duc Luong commuted the death sentences of two Australians to life imprisonment, citing "humane tradition" and the good bilateral relationship between Australia and Viet Nam. He spared convicted heroin smugglers Mai Cong Thanh, an Australian citizen, and Nguyen Van Chinh, an Australian permanent resident.
The death sentence against Tran Van Thanh, convicted of heroin trafficking, was commuted to life in prison in August 2005 on the basis of humanitarian grounds and the strong relationship between Viet Nam and Australia.
Le My Linh, a 43-year old Sydney woman, was granted presidential clemency in July 2003 following appeals from the Australian government. The president again cited humanitarian grounds when commuting her sentence to life in prison.
Vietnamese citizens have not been so lucky. According to Amnesty International, there were 21 known executions in 2005 and at least 65 people sentenced to death, but "the real number is believed to be much higher".
Related stories:
World Day call for Australian leadership -- 10 October, 2006
UN: Australia should tackle drugs penalty -- 29 September, 2006
Australia's double standards under pressure -- 13 September, 2006
Firing squad for six of Bali nine -- 10 September, 2006
Australian police & the firing squad -- 19 February, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
death penalty, Vietnam, Viet Nam, human rights, drugs, drug trade
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced this week that the death sentence against Trinh Huu, 53, had been commuted to life imprisonment.
He said Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet commuted Trinh's death sentence following diplomatic representations from the Australian government.
As in previous cases, the Vietnamese government cited humanitarian grounds and their country's good relationship with Australia as reasons for the decision.
Trinh was sentenced to death in December last year for trafficking about 2 kilograms of heroin. He was arrested near the Vietnam-Cambodia border in December 2004.
The Age newspaper reported in February this year that Trinh was arrested by Vietnamese police working with the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
A spokesperson for Justice Minister Chris Ellison confirmed that Trinh's arrest "was the result of co-operation between Australian and Vietnamese authorities regarding a large drug syndicate".
The AFP has been criticised for its co-operation with Indonesian police, following the April 2005 arrest of a group of Australian citizens known as the "Bali 9". The AFP provided crucial information that led to the monitoring, arrest and prosecution of the group for trying to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Australia.
Six members of the Bali 9 have been sentenced to death for drug smuggling offences.
Clemency for foreign nationals
Viet Nam has only executed one foreign national since 1975, when it shot a Canadian woman of Vietnamese origin, Nguyen Thi Hiep, on 25 April 1999.
Five Australians have had their death sentences commuted in Viet Nam since 2003. In all five cases the Australian government made strong representations to the government of Viet Nam appealing for the sentences to be commuted.
In February 2006 President Tran Duc Luong commuted the death sentences of two Australians to life imprisonment, citing "humane tradition" and the good bilateral relationship between Australia and Viet Nam. He spared convicted heroin smugglers Mai Cong Thanh, an Australian citizen, and Nguyen Van Chinh, an Australian permanent resident.
The death sentence against Tran Van Thanh, convicted of heroin trafficking, was commuted to life in prison in August 2005 on the basis of humanitarian grounds and the strong relationship between Viet Nam and Australia.
Le My Linh, a 43-year old Sydney woman, was granted presidential clemency in July 2003 following appeals from the Australian government. The president again cited humanitarian grounds when commuting her sentence to life in prison.
Vietnamese citizens have not been so lucky. According to Amnesty International, there were 21 known executions in 2005 and at least 65 people sentenced to death, but "the real number is believed to be much higher".
Related stories:
World Day call for Australian leadership -- 10 October, 2006
UN: Australia should tackle drugs penalty -- 29 September, 2006
Australia's double standards under pressure -- 13 September, 2006
Firing squad for six of Bali nine -- 10 September, 2006
Australian police & the firing squad -- 19 February, 2006
To begin, good news in Viet Nam -- 18 February, 2006
death penalty, Vietnam, Viet Nam, human rights, drugs, drug trade
Sunday, 26 February 2006
Viet Nam easing the executioner's burden
In the last two years, the Vietnamese government has considered changing the method of execution from the current firing squad to either lethal injection or an automatic firing machine (aimed at the prisoner and then fired with the press of a button).
Recent reports in official state media quoted a Police Ministry study favouring a move to lethal injection.
According to a Reuters story in early February, state media quoted the study’s findings on lethal injection: "The method's advantage is to cause less pain to the death-row inmate, the execution time is short, some parts can be automated so it will minimise the psychological difficulties for executioners."
So, humane all round then.
Recent reports in official state media quoted a Police Ministry study favouring a move to lethal injection.
According to a Reuters story in early February, state media quoted the study’s findings on lethal injection: "The method's advantage is to cause less pain to the death-row inmate, the execution time is short, some parts can be automated so it will minimise the psychological difficulties for executioners."
So, humane all round then.
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