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Three United Nations particular rapporteurs despatched a letter urging the Vietnamese authorities to not execute loss of life row inmate Nguyen Van Chuong, who was convicted of murdering a police main, RFA has discovered.
The letter was not made public by the Workplace of the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights till this week, however it’s dated Aug. 10, a couple of week after Chuong’s household was abruptly requested to make preparations to obtain his stays, however weren’t given an execution date.
The letter follows swimsuit with related pleas from rights organizations and the worldwide neighborhood at the moment, who feared Chuong’s execution was imminent.
“In view of the urgency of the matter and the irreversibility of the execution of the loss of life penalty, we respectfully name upon the very best authorities of Viet Nam to make sure Mr. [name redacted] is just not executed,” stated the letter, signed by the particular rapporteurs on extrajudicial, abstract or arbitrary executions; independence of judges and legal professionals; and torture and different merciless, inhuman or degrading therapy or punishment.
Chuong’s title was blacked out within the model of the letter launched to the general public.
“His execution, on the details out there to us, might represent a violation of relevant worldwide human rights requirements and represent an arbitrary execution,” the rapporteurs stated, whereas additionally urging Vietnam to grant clemency or commute the sentence.
Chuong was convicted within the 2007 theft and homicide of Main Nguyen Van Sinh in northeastern Vietnam’s metropolis of Haiphong. Two others had been convicted within the case.
The household has submitted a number of petitions, asking all ranges of presidency to rethink Chuong’s loss of life sentence.
The letter detailed a number of alleged issues with the case that, if true, would make an execution of Chuong “inconsistent with requirements of worldwide human rights legislation, and quantity[ing] to an arbitrary execution.”
Issues with the case
It stated that the proof used to convict the defendants within the case included confessions, which Chuong alleges had been obtained below excessive duress.
Chuong claims he was overwhelmed and coerced by the investigator, RFA beforehand reported. Authorities deny that he was tortured on the time of the investigation.
The letter additionally stated that Chuong had a “sturdy alibi” with a number of individuals from his hometown – 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the crime scene – who stated below oath that they noticed him at a pageant on the time of the crime.
“As an alternative of investigating the validity of the alibi, the police arrested Mr. [name redacted] youthful brother, on allegations of manipulating proof and influencing witnesses,” the letter stated. “Additional, it’s alleged that some witnesses who attested to Mr. alibi had been coerced into altering their testimonies by the police.”
RFA additionally reported that the testimonies of the opposite suspects contradicted one another and the make of weapon described and the marks on the sufferer’s physique had been inconsistent of their statements.
Chuong’s household continues to enchantment the case and requires clear investigation, his father advised RFA Vietnamese.
Vietnamese police investigations typically depend on torture and compelled confessions that end in “frequent miscarriages of justice,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch advised RFA.
“On this case, the tragedy is compounded by Vietnam’s use of the loss of life penalty, which is a merciless, uncommon and completely irreversible punishment that blatantly violates worldwide human rights,” he stated. “The Vietnamese authorities must get up and acknowledge that their police drive is a significant a part of the issue within the nation, and except there are severe and systemic reforms in the way in which the police function, Vietnam won’t ever be capable of severely adjust to its worldwide human rights obligations.”
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