Nguyen Thi Viet, mother of Le Van Manh calls for his release
The London-based non-governmental human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) has called on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to immediately stop the planned execution of Le Van Manh, who was is alleged to be responsible for the 2005 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Thanh Hoa province.
by Vu Quoc Ngu, October 24, 2015
The London-based non-governmental human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) has called on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to immediately stop the planned execution of Le Van Manh, who was is alleged to be responsible for the 2005 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Thanh Hoa province.
The letter dated October 23, was signed by Director Champa Patel of the AI’s South East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, was sent to President Sang and Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affair Pham Binh Minh three days to the planned execution of the 33-year-old man who claimed that he was forced to make coerced confession.
In its letter, the AI expressed its concerns over the case, saying it received reports that Manh was tortured in police custody before “confessing” to the crime and that he did not receive adequate and effective legal representation, resulting in his decision following his conviction to represent himself before the Court of Appeal.
The AI reaffirmed that it opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime, the guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
The AI calls on Vietnam, as a signatory of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to undertake the following obligations, amongst others:
- To take all measures to ensure that no one is subjected to torture or the other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
- To ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made (Article 15);
- To ensure that any individual who alleged to he has been subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially delaminated by its competent authorities (Article 13).
The AI said the death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. When a death sentence is imposed following a trial which does not meet international law and standards on fair trial, including the standards contained in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a party, it violates international law.
Mr. Manh was arrested on April 20, 2005, one month after the murder of the neighbor girl and police accused him of committing the sin without any evidence. Manh’s younger brother, Le Van Cuong, a ten-grade-class student was also detained.
During the first hearing, the procuracy had not showed any solid evidence against Manh, who claimed that he was tortured by police investigation officers during interrogation and forced to make confession.
Prominent human rights lawyer Tran Vu Hai, director of the Hanoi-based Tran Vu Hai Lawyer Co., said Mr. Manh’s case is similar to the case of Huynh Van Nen who was accused of committing a murder in the central province of Binh Thuan as in both cases, police have no solid evidence against the suspects who complained that they made coerced confession due to police torture.
On October 22, Mr. Nen was released after 17 years and five months in prison. He was arrested in 1998 and two years later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegation of killing Le Thi Bong in Tan Minh commune, Ham Tan district.
Mr. Nen may receive compensation for being wrongly sentenced, lawyer Hai said, adding Mr. Manh will not have this luck if the Vietnamese authorities continue their planned execution on Monday [October 26].
In the past ten years, Mr. Manh’s family has sent thousands of petitions to many state agencies to complain for the wrong sentence against him, however, they received no responses.
In the one-party Vietnam, police torture is systemic while the judges often rely on confessions without adjusting whether the confessions are coerced or not, local human rights lawyers said.
State media has reported a number of cases of miscarriages of justice, in which the accused were freed after spending years in prison thanks to the voluntary confessions of people who committed the crimes.
Nguyen Thanh Chan from the northern province of Bac Giang was released last year after serving ten years in prison. Chan, who was wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, received a compensation of VND7.2 billion ($322,000).
Earlier this month, two police officers Nguyen Hoang Quan and Trieu Tuan Hung in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang were imprisoned for torturing seven suspects in a murder case. The suspects said they were forced to make coerced confession after being brutally beaten by the two officers. They were proven innocent after the real murders voluntarily came to police station to confess their crime.
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October 24, 2015
Amnesty International Calls on Vietnam President to Stop Execution of Unfairly Tried Le Van Manh
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Le Van Manh (Thanh Hoa)
Nguyen Thi Viet, mother of Le Van Manh calls for his release
by Vu Quoc Ngu, October 24, 2015
The London-based non-governmental human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) has called on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang to immediately stop the planned execution of Le Van Manh, who was is alleged to be responsible for the 2005 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Thanh Hoa province.
The letter dated October 23, was signed by Director Champa Patel of the AI’s South East Asia and Pacific Regional Office, was sent to President Sang and Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affair Pham Binh Minh three days to the planned execution of the 33-year-old man who claimed that he was forced to make coerced confession.
In its letter, the AI expressed its concerns over the case, saying it received reports that Manh was tortured in police custody before “confessing” to the crime and that he did not receive adequate and effective legal representation, resulting in his decision following his conviction to represent himself before the Court of Appeal.
The AI reaffirmed that it opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime, the guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
The AI calls on Vietnam, as a signatory of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to undertake the following obligations, amongst others:
The AI said the death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. When a death sentence is imposed following a trial which does not meet international law and standards on fair trial, including the standards contained in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a party, it violates international law.
Mr. Manh was arrested on April 20, 2005, one month after the murder of the neighbor girl and police accused him of committing the sin without any evidence. Manh’s younger brother, Le Van Cuong, a ten-grade-class student was also detained.
During the first hearing, the procuracy had not showed any solid evidence against Manh, who claimed that he was tortured by police investigation officers during interrogation and forced to make confession.
Prominent human rights lawyer Tran Vu Hai, director of the Hanoi-based Tran Vu Hai Lawyer Co., said Mr. Manh’s case is similar to the case of Huynh Van Nen who was accused of committing a murder in the central province of Binh Thuan as in both cases, police have no solid evidence against the suspects who complained that they made coerced confession due to police torture.
On October 22, Mr. Nen was released after 17 years and five months in prison. He was arrested in 1998 and two years later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegation of killing Le Thi Bong in Tan Minh commune, Ham Tan district.
Mr. Nen may receive compensation for being wrongly sentenced, lawyer Hai said, adding Mr. Manh will not have this luck if the Vietnamese authorities continue their planned execution on Monday [October 26].
In the past ten years, Mr. Manh’s family has sent thousands of petitions to many state agencies to complain for the wrong sentence against him, however, they received no responses.
In the one-party Vietnam, police torture is systemic while the judges often rely on confessions without adjusting whether the confessions are coerced or not, local human rights lawyers said.
State media has reported a number of cases of miscarriages of justice, in which the accused were freed after spending years in prison thanks to the voluntary confessions of people who committed the crimes.
Nguyen Thanh Chan from the northern province of Bac Giang was released last year after serving ten years in prison. Chan, who was wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, received a compensation of VND7.2 billion ($322,000).
Earlier this month, two police officers Nguyen Hoang Quan and Trieu Tuan Hung in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang were imprisoned for torturing seven suspects in a murder case. The suspects said they were forced to make coerced confession after being brutally beaten by the two officers. They were proven innocent after the real murders voluntarily came to police station to confess their crime.