Vietnam to continue using death penalty despite criticism
Vietnam will continue using capital punishment as a deterrent to crime despite criticism from international human rights groups and countries opposed to the death penalty, state-controlled media reported Thursday.
"For Vietnam, maintaining the death penalty is necessary to ensure the peaceful life for the citizens and for the common interests of the community," Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Le Van Bang was quoted by the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper as saying at a death penalty seminar Wednesday with the European Union. Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam, Gerban de Jong, was quoted as saying that the EU targets the abolishment of the death penalty worldwide, or at least limiting the number of executions in countries like Vietnam where the policy remains.
Vietnam currently executes people by firing squads for crimes ranging from fraud to treason, with the highest number of executions related to drug trafficking. "The use of the death penalty recently had a real impact on suppressing and deterring criminals," said Vu Ngoc Anh, vice director of the Ministry of Public Security's Legal Department. However, he said Vietnam will reduce the number of offenses punishable by death in line with other countries that still use capital punishment.
Some 70 to 80 people have been sentenced to death each year in Vietnam since 1999 when Vietnam reduced the number of capital offenses from 44 to 29, said Police Maj. Gen. Le Van Cuong. Earlier this year, Vietnam declared statistics about the number of people condemned to death a top state secret, amid criticism from international human rights groups about the country's number of executions.
The Associated Press - November 25, 2004
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