In Vietnam, a controversial planned execution strains death penalty
In the case of Nguyen Van Chuong, whether he is dead or alive is anyone’s guess.
Nguyen’s community is still unsure of when he will receive a lethal venom injection, or even if it has already occurred, fifteen years after his death sentence in the port city of Hai Phong in northeastern Vietnam.
In a letter to the court dated August 4 that was also posted to Facebook, Chuong’s father, Nguyen Truong Chinh, stated that he had received” a notice of the execution of my son, Nongi Van Chuhong ,” implying that the Court of Hai Phong City had insisted on killing his son. In order to politely ask the appropriate government to look into the situation and save my brother from injustice, I am writing this letter.
The judge had asked him if he wanted his brother’s body and possessions returned after his execution that evening, which is a phone that no parents ever wants. The family father was informed that he had three days to submit a written request to retrieve his brother’s body or ashes, though it was unclear whether the murder had already taken place or was scheduled.
Since then, he has been protesting while holding banners in front of the courthouse.
One of his banners read,” Dear friends who love justice and freedom, please share[ this crusade ] to aid prisoner Nguyen Van Chuong.”
For the alleged 2007 murder of a high-ranking law agent, the younger Nguyen, 40, has been on death row since 2008. Popular Vietnamese attorneys who have argued for leniency in response to allegations that police tortured Nguyen in order to obtain a confession as well as other obvious irregularities in his conviction became aware of his case.
Nguyen’s attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court when he received his initial suicide sentence in 2008. However, the case was swiftly dismissed, escalating public outrage over the trial’s purported injustice. In Vietnam, where rights organizations claim judges have given death sentences more frequently in recent years, the opposition on the statement and the apparent impending execution have broken the veil of secrecy that protects news about such cases.
One of the 55 nations in the world that still execute its residents is Vietnam. Amnesty International claims that because” secrecy and limiting state practices” prevent an accurate assessment, many deaths go unreported. More than 119 people received death words in Vietnam between 2020 and 2021, according to the charitable organization’s estimate of a 30 % increase in the death penalty.
The nation had then follow just China and Iran in carrying out executions.
Despite having no apparent connection to the officer’s death, Nguyen and two other men who were accused of being complicit in the shooting were apparently handcuffed, beaten, and threatened from the moment of his collar until they confessed.
Strong alibi witnesses who testified under oath that they were with Nguyen in his hometown of Hai Duong, around 40 kilometers away from the assault, provided strong evidence. However, rather than looking into the evidence, authorities swiftly detained Nguyen Trong Doan, his younger brother, for tampering with witnesses and the facts.
Officials came to the conclusion that the three suspects killed and robbed the agent in order to obtain heroin. Nguyen was sentenced to death course, while the other two received long prison terms.
Nadia Ivanova, chairman of People in Need’s center for human rights and democracy and one of the 13 signatories to an open letter to the Taiwanese president urging an immediate end to Nguyen” murder, stated that” as of recent data we have, he is still alive and has received the notice for his implementation.” ” A few days after the announcement, his household managed to pay a visit to his incarceration.”
However, despite the case’s obvious public interest, Ivanova claimed that discussions have only been held in casual settings.
The fact that there has been almost no national media coverage on the case or about the notification itself since August 4 — the notification day— has really concerned us about this case. She claimed that the majority of the knowledge came from social internet, specifically his family’s Facebook post.
When Nguyen’s appeal was denied by the Supreme Court in 2013, a number of attorneys and human rights activists pointed out discrepancies and legal flaws in the exploration, trial, and appeal stages of his case. These include discrepancies in witness claims, disputed inferences of weapons and knives, and a lack of research into Nguyen’s evidence, including cellphone records.
Some legal professionals even think he’s really a scapegoat.
Le Cong Dinh, a human right attorney and former vice president of the Ho Chi Minh Bar Association, stated that” we believe that the sufferer had some issues with another officer regarding the job development.” ” The murderer is probably the other police officer ,” she said. However, the authorities charged [ Nguyen ] with hiding this case.
Vietnam imposes the death penalty for 22 crimes, including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, sexual assault on children, and financial crimes like problem. The death penalty is most frequently used for drug-related crimes, with possession of cocaine and heroin or smuggling punishable by death, but money punishment is almost always used in serious corruption instances and violent crimes.
” Due to rape, we raised a lot of voices against death in custody in Vietnam. But given that this is how Vietnam looks into fugitive cases, I don’t see any changes in the future.
Le Cong Dinh, a solicitor for human right
This time, the public has expressed an odd concern that Nguyen’s test was harsh and that he might have been tortured in order to get a confession.
” Taiwanese people don’t typically react strongly to cases involving the demise penalty.” Nguyen Khac Giang, a Taiwanese political analyst and visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, said that this was one of the rare occasions when the community became very active on social media, calling for fairness and re-examining the case.
Nguyen cited the widespread belief that there may have been a serious violation of due process, including possibly even abuse during the interviews leading to” a required admission of guilt ,” despite having no interpersonal connection to the prisoner.
It’s almost certain that magistrates in Vietnam have already rendered a decision before you even stand trial, he said. Additionally, a lot is unknown about this situation, particularly how the prosecutors and the authorities conducted their investigation.
Le from the Bar Association stated that there is no turning back after a wrongful murder and that the only way to address the issues of abuse and unfair execution is to completely abolish the practice.
Because of rape, we spoke out strongly against the death penalty in Vietnam. But given that this is how Vietnam looks into fugitive circumstances, I don’t see any changes in the future, Le said.
” I have no desire for upcoming adjustments.” We have no other option but to abolish the death penalty. No dying is what we want. We have occasion to save the people if we have any additional information.
Nguyen of ISEAS is more upbeat. He acknowledges Vietnam’s adoption of new rules to conform to international standards of fairness and due process and believes that his nation has advanced over the years. A nationwide requirement that voice recorders and various witnesses be present in question rooms is one of these.
Such actions might pave the way for a future court method that is more clear. However, for the time being, the life of the condemned Nguyen’s community and the lives of their son and brother are in jeopardy.
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