by Defend the Defenders, April 26, 2017
On April 25, Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Court held a meeting in the northern province of Bac Giang to offer a public apology to local resident Han Duc Long, who was wrongly sentenced in a murder case and spent eleven years in prison before being released, state media has reported.
The event was held in the communal building of Phuc Son commune, Yen The district. Tran Van Tuan, deputy head of the High People’s Court in Hanoi delivered the apology statement.
On December 20, 2016, the People’s Procuracy of Bac Giang province issued a decision to cease investigations into the case of defendant Long on charges of murder and rape of a local girl named Nguyen Thi Yen, as well as to suspend his temporary detention.
According to the decision, Mr. Long was not guilty and he was wrongfully sentenced to 11 years in prison. Long had been arrested on October 18, 2005. He was released in the afternoon of December 20, 2016.
During the event, relatives of the victim attacked Mr. Tuan with their footwear, interrupted his reading of the court’s statement of apology, and asked for further investigation into the murder and to bring those responsible to justice.
Mr. Long is among the many victims of miscarriage of justice in Vietnam. Others include, for instance, Nguyen Thanh Chan in Bac Giang, Luong Ngoc Phi in Thai Binh, and Huynh Van Nen, who all spent years in prison for severe crimes before being proved innocent.
Mr. Chan and Mr. Phi received compensation of respectively VND 7.2 billion ($313,000) and VND 167 billion.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has approved to pay Mr. Nen VND10 billion in compensation.
The compensation comes from the state budget, and is not paid by state officials who were responsible for the wrong sentencing.
Miscarriage of justice has grabbed headlines in Vietnam over the past years.
Most recent data released mid-2015 by Vietnam’s top legislative body, the National Assembly, showed that at least 71 people were wrongfully charged or convicted in the country from October 2011 to September 2014. Most of the cases were related to murder, robbery and child rape.
Investigators have dropped 31 of the cases after finding that the suspects were innocent. In 12 other cases, they failed to find evidence to support the charges within the legally required time frame. Prosecutors dropped nine cases themselves and appeals courts overturned criminal verdicts against 19 persons.
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April 26, 2017
Vietnam Court Offers Apology for Wrongly-sentenced Han Duc Long
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
by Defend the Defenders, April 26, 2017
On April 25, Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Court held a meeting in the northern province of Bac Giang to offer a public apology to local resident Han Duc Long, who was wrongly sentenced in a murder case and spent eleven years in prison before being released, state media has reported.
The event was held in the communal building of Phuc Son commune, Yen The district. Tran Van Tuan, deputy head of the High People’s Court in Hanoi delivered the apology statement.
On December 20, 2016, the People’s Procuracy of Bac Giang province issued a decision to cease investigations into the case of defendant Long on charges of murder and rape of a local girl named Nguyen Thi Yen, as well as to suspend his temporary detention.
According to the decision, Mr. Long was not guilty and he was wrongfully sentenced to 11 years in prison. Long had been arrested on October 18, 2005. He was released in the afternoon of December 20, 2016.
During the event, relatives of the victim attacked Mr. Tuan with their footwear, interrupted his reading of the court’s statement of apology, and asked for further investigation into the murder and to bring those responsible to justice.
Mr. Long is among the many victims of miscarriage of justice in Vietnam. Others include, for instance, Nguyen Thanh Chan in Bac Giang, Luong Ngoc Phi in Thai Binh, and Huynh Van Nen, who all spent years in prison for severe crimes before being proved innocent.
Mr. Chan and Mr. Phi received compensation of respectively VND 7.2 billion ($313,000) and VND 167 billion.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has approved to pay Mr. Nen VND10 billion in compensation.
The compensation comes from the state budget, and is not paid by state officials who were responsible for the wrong sentencing.
Miscarriage of justice has grabbed headlines in Vietnam over the past years.
Most recent data released mid-2015 by Vietnam’s top legislative body, the National Assembly, showed that at least 71 people were wrongfully charged or convicted in the country from October 2011 to September 2014. Most of the cases were related to murder, robbery and child rape.
Investigators have dropped 31 of the cases after finding that the suspects were innocent. In 12 other cases, they failed to find evidence to support the charges within the legally required time frame. Prosecutors dropped nine cases themselves and appeals courts overturned criminal verdicts against 19 persons.