Joint Open Letter: Halt the arbitrary execution of Viet Nam death row prisoner Nguyễn Văn Chưởng

Joint Open Letter: Halt the arbitrary execution of Viet Nam death row prisoner Nguyễn Văn Chưởng

Mr. Võ Văn Thưởng

State President

No. 2, Hùng Vương, Ba Đình District

Hà Nội

Việt Nam

[Open letter – URGENT] Việt Nam: Halt the arbitrary execution of death row prisoner Nguyễn Văn Chưởng 

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to express our deep concern over the apparently impending execution of death row prisoner Mr. Nguyễn Văn Chưởng. We  request that you and the responsible authorities ensure the execution is halted immediately and that you initiate a prompt, impartial and effective investigation into allegations that he was tortured to compel him to “confess” guilt. This “confession” was allegedly unlawfully admitted into evidence and was relied on in convicting him at trial, in contravention of Việt Nam’s international legal obligations. 

According to Chưởng’s father Mr. Nguyễn Trường Chinh, he received a notification dated 4 August 2023 from the People’s Court of Hải Phòng, informing him that as Chưởng’s relative, he could apply in writing to receive his son’s ashes or corpse within 3 working days of the notification. It is unclear, however, whether the execution is imminent or has already been carried out. 

Particularly given the likelihood that he had been subject to an unfair trial and proceedings that led to his conviction and death sentence, his execution would amount to a violation of the right to life and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international human rights law and Việt Nam’s international legal obligations. In addition, his execution would perpetrate a grave injustice despite his family’s persistent plea for a comprehensive case review over the past decade.

On 3 August 2007, the Hải Phòng City Police Department arrested then 24-year-old Nguyễn Văn Chưởng, along with Đỗ Văn Hoàng and Vũ Toàn Trung, in connection with the killing of a high-ranking police officer. The primary evidence relied on to convict them was their “confessions”, which the defendants alleged were made under extreme duress and torture. 

The investigation conducted by the police was riddled with discrepancies, disregarding crucial evidence in favour of the forced “confessions”. Despite the existence of strong alibi witnesses, the police failed to investigate their validity. Instead, they arrested Chưởng’s younger brother, Mr. Nguyễn Trọng Đoàn, on allegations of manipulating evidence and witnesses. The police reportedly coerced Chưởng’s alibi witnesses by physical force into changing their testimonies.

On 12 June 2008, Chưởng and his co-defendants were tried for murder, and he was given the death penalty. Despite multiple appeals by Chưởng and his co-defendants, as well as the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Việt Nam, the Supreme People’s Court of Việt Nam upheld his conviction and death sentence.

By carrying out Nguyễn Văn Chưởng’s death sentence, Việt Nam is piling yet another violation of Mr. Chưởng’s rights on top of the numerous abuses that he was subjected to during the investigation and trial of his case. 

Death penalty

By executing Mr. Nguyễn Văn Chưởng, Việt Nam would defy the global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The UN General Assembly, in repeated resolutions and by overwhelming majorities, most recently in General Assembly Resolution 77/222 of 15 December 2022, has called on all States that retain the death penalty to impose an immediate moratorium on its use, with a view to abolition.

In line with opinions shared by many governments and the United Nations, we emphasize that the death penalty constitutes a denial of the right to life protected by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Việt Nam is a State party; and that it constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, prohibited under Article 7 of the ICCPR and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). Countries like Việt Nam where the death penalty is imposed must ensure, at a minimum, that it is only used in cases of “the most serious crimes” following a trial that meets the highest level of compliance with international law and standards of fairness. As the UN Human Rights Committee noted: “Violation of the fair trial guarantees provided for in article 14 of the Covenant in proceedings resulting in the imposition of the death penalty would render the sentence arbitrary in nature, and in violation of article 6 of the [ICCPR]” (General Comment No. 36 – Article 6: right to life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para. 41). Chưởng’s trial was clearly neither fair nor compliant with international human rights law.   

Allegations of torture

As a State party to the UNCAT and the ICCPR, Việt Nam has an obligation to respect the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment at all times. 

Article 15 of the UNCAT obliges State parties to “ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings.” International law prescribes that State parties must conduct prompt, impartial and thorough investigations when complaints of torture or other ill-treatment are made (Article 12 and 13, UNCAT; and Article 7 and 2(3), ICCPR). In addition, State parties must provide prompt and effective remedies and full reparations for victims of torture and other ill-treatment (Article 14, UNCAT, and Article 7 in connection with Article 2(3), ICCPR). 

Appeal

In light of these concerns, we urge you to:

  • Immediately notify Mr. Nguyễn Văn Chưởng’s family about his current status; 
  • Immediately grant him a permanent reprieve from execution;
  • Release him or grant him a new trial in line with fair trial standards under international law;
  • Initiate a prompt, impartial and effective investigation into the allegations that he was subjected to torture or other cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment with a view to gaining “confessions” and, if proven, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide him and his family with access to an effective remedy and reparation in line with international human rights law and standards; and
  • Impose a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty both in law and in practice in Việt Nam.

We thank you for your urgent consideration of these concerns. 

Yours sincerely,

Signatories:

Amnesty International

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights

Asia Democracy Network

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Centre for Civil and Political Rights

Cross Cultural Foundation

Duayjai Group

International Commission of Jurists

Manushya Foundation

People in Need

The 88 Project

Transformative Justice Collective

Southeast Asian lawmakers call for justice, accountability one year after the execution of four Myanmar pro-democracy activists

Southeast Asian lawmakers call for justice, accountability one year after the execution of four Myanmar pro-democracy activists

JAKARTA – The Myanmar military must be held accountable for their continued mockery of the rule of the law, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today, marking one year since four political prisoners committed to the success of the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar were executed at the order of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.  Former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw and three other activists – Kyaw Min Yu, known as “Ko Jimmy,” Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw – were all sentenced to death in closed-door military courts during sham trials backed by junta-appointed judges. 

The executions of the four activists was a gross miscarriage of justice and a grave loss for the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar. The fact that the military continues to sentence scores of people to death is evidence of their disregard for upholding any qualified measure of the law. ASEAN should take this for what it is – evidence of a brutal military regime with no intention of abiding by human rights principles, including the right to a free and fair trial. One year on, there has yet to be any justice for the victims’ families and the thousands of political prisoners detained,” APHR Chair and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives Mercy Barends said today. 

The junta intended the executions to send a strong message to the pro-democracy movement but their cruelty has only propelled activists to amplify their calls to the international community to go beyond condemning the brutal military regime and respond with tangible actions that hold the junta to account, including an immediate referral by the United Nations Security Council to the International Criminal Court. 

The situation in Myanmar remains volatile as the junta continues to torture, kill, arrest and detain people who resist their dictatorship. As indicated in the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and other rights-based reports, crimes against humanity continue to be systematically perpetrated in the country by the junta.

We stand in solidarity with the Myanmar people and pro-democracy movement and their courageous stand against the illegal military junta. We echo their calls and urge the international community, including ASEAN, to take concrete measures to hold the junta accountable for their terrible crimes, including by supporting the legal cases in the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice as well as ongoing efforts to assert universal jurisdiction,” said Barends.

Southeast Asian lawmakers call for justice, accountability one year after the execution of four Myanmar pro-democracy activists

Southeast Asian MPs condemn barbaric executions of four political prisoners in Myanmar

JAKARTA – The recent executions of four political prisoners at the hands of the illegal military junta in Myanmar is an act of judicial barbarism, Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have denounced today, after the state media announced that the death sentences have been carried out on an unspecified date at Insein Prison, in Yangon.

The four executed men, all charged under anti-terrorism laws, are Phyo Zeya Thaw, former lawmaker for the National League for Democracy (NLD); the prominent activist Kyaw Min Yu, widely known as ‘Ko Jimmy’; Aung Thura Zaw; and Hla Myo Aung. These death sentences are the first known judicial executions in Myanmar since 1988, according to Amnesty International, which hitherto has considered the country as “Abolitionist in Practice”.

“These executions are nothing but appalling acts of evil committed by a brutal junta that has shown no qualms about waging a war against the Myanmar population in order to cement its power. The global community, and all ASEAN members in particular, should take these cold-blooded assassinations as yet another wake up call on the true nature of the regime of terror that the Myanmar military is attempting to impose in the country,” said Eva Sundari, former member of the House of Representatives in Indonesia and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

According to the Myanmar group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of 22 July there were 76 prisoners in Myanmar sentenced to death, including two children, while 41 people have been given the death penalty in absentia. Since the coup on 1 February 2021, at least 2114 people have been killed by the self-styled State Administration Council (SAC), led by General Min Aung Hlaing, in its campaign to suppress the widespread opposition to military rule.

These death sentences should be viewed as an attempt by the Myanmar military to provide a veneer of legality to political assassination. Yet it is evident that these sentences were handed without fairness, by military tribunals conducting trials lacking in any respect for due process, APHR denounced.

“It is clear that these executions are made to strike fear among representatives of the democratic forces and political activists who oppose the junta . We believe that all those accused by the military junta are tried in secret, unfair and biased trials with no legal safeguards. Many political prisoners are subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and now there are dozens of prisoners in Myanmar jails who could be executed at any moment,” said Tom Villarin, former Philippine MP and APHR Board Member.

Not even the previous military regime, which ruled the country between 1988 and 2011, dared to carry out the death penalty against political prisoners. This means yet another increase in the junta’s brutality, which comes from a sense of impunity largely fostered by the failure of the global community to do anything effective to prevent it from committing further atrocities,” said Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament from Malaysia, and APHR Chairperson.

The executions also serve as proof that the SAC led by Min Aung Hlaing has no intention to engage in any meaningful political dialogue with the pro-democracy forces led by the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG). Such a dialogue, one of the key points of the Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN member states and Min Aung Hlaing’s junta in April 2021, has never materialized. 

The Consensus also called for an immediate cessation of violence, something that the Myanmar military, which continues shelling villages and killing protesters, has also failed to implement. Yet the Myanmar military, in its all-out war over its people is committing “systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses” that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The junta’s contempt for the agreement it signed is clear, especially considering that the announcement of these executions comes two weeks after the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair to Myanmar, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, visited the country. The Special Envoy, and ASEAN members, should condemn these executions, and seriously rethink their approach to the crisis in Myanmar. For starters, they should begin exerting pressure on the SAC with targeted sanctions and travel bans in the region in order to show Min Aung Hlaing and his men that they cannot commit their crimes with impunity,” said Kasit Piromya, former MP and Foreign Minister in Thailand, and APHR Board Member.

Southeast Asian MPs alarmed by planned executions of four Myanmar political prisoners

Southeast Asian MPs alarmed by planned executions of four Myanmar political prisoners

JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia are alarmed by the announcement by the Myanmar junta that it will carry out the death sentences handed down to four political prisoners, including prominent former member of Parliament, Ko Phyo Zeya Thaw, and well-known pro-democracy activist, Kyaw Min Yu, better known as “Ko Jimmy”, both convicted on charges of terrorism.

These death sentences would be the first known judicial executions in the country since 1988, according to Amnesty International, which considers Myanmar as “Abolitionist in Practice”, as it retains the death penalty in law, but has not applied it for decades. Ever since the coup in February last year that ousted the democratically elected government, Myanmar has seen a drastic surge in the number of people sentenced to death with at least 86 people, including minors who were under 18 at the time.

“ASEAN and the international community must use every means at their disposal to prevent these executions from taking place. If they are carried out they will be nothing less than cold blooded political assassination. These executions would further contribute to prevent the already remote possibility of a sustainable political dialogue, as prescribed over one year ago in the Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN member states and Min Aung Hlaing’s junta, which has not made any effort whatsoever in that direction,” said Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament from Malaysia, and APHR Chairperson. 

The Myanmar military has killed at least 1,887 protesters since the coup, but it is attempting to give a veneer of legality to the execution of the four men. Yet it is abundantly clear that, as in dozens of sentences handed by military tribunals, there was no respect for fair trial rights.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) unreservedly supports the recent United Nations Secretary General’s statement reminding Myanmar’s military that the death sentences are a blatant violation of the right to life, liberty and security of the person, as per Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also join him in emphasizing that the Declaration also enshrines the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, and all of the guarantees necessary for a person’s defense.

“This announcement should be viewed in the context of the increasingly brazen atrocities being committed by the Myanmar military in order to consolidate its power in the face of widespread popular resistance. The junta is killing, torturing and arbitrarily arresting Myanmar people with an impunity that owes a great deal to the failure of the international community to hold it accountable for its crimes,” said Santiago.

APHR calls on each and every member state of ASEAN, as well as its Dialogue Partners, to urgently demand an unconditional and immediate stay of execution and release of the four detainees by the self-declared State Administration Council. They must individually and collectively make a stand before it is too late, not only for these four, but for all those currently arbitrarily detained who should be immediately and unconditionally released.

Singapore: Stop execution of Malaysian with intellectual disabilities

Singapore: Stop execution of Malaysian with intellectual disabilities

JAKARTA – Southeast Asian parliamentarians have added their voices to the widespread calls urging the government of Singapore to immediately halt the scheduled execution of 33-year-old Malaysian national Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, on 10 November 2021, by hanging in the country’s Changi prison.

Mr Nagaenthran was convicted and sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in November 2010 for trafficking 42.72 grams of Diamorphine into Singapore in April 2009, a sentence upheld by the Singapore Court of Appeal in November 2011. During his trial, Mr Nagaenthran was assessed as having an IQ of 69, a level internationally recognized to qualify as an intellectual disability. He was also assessed to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and severe alcohol use disorder that together could affect his judgment, ability to assess risks, decision-making, and impulse control.  

“We cannot let a mentally impaired person be sent to the gallows. We urge Singapore to show mercy and compassion to commute his death sentence in accordance with international human rights law, especially as Singapore is a signatory to the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities,” said Kasthuri Patto, a Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and Member of Parliament (MP) in Malaysia.  “We are not asking to pardon him but to show clemency to stop his execution, especially given that he may not have fully understood the consequences of his actions due to his intellectual disabilities. In the past, Malaysia too, on grounds of compassion commuted the death sentence to life of a Nigerian man who was later diagnosed as being schizophrenic. No crime committed should remain unpunished but never should any country execute a person with intellectual disabilities,” she said..

In a statement, UN experts said that Mr Nagaenthran’s 11 years on death row has “reportedly caused further deterioration of his mental health” and that the decision to carry out an execution during the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional impact of the sentence on his family “may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

UN experts have also previously stated it is “a violation of death penalty safeguards to impose capital punishment on individuals suffering from psychosocial disabilities,” adding that “[i]nternational law considers the imposition and enforcement of the death penalty on persons with mental disabilities a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.” Furthermore, sentencing and executing a person suffering from intellectual disabilities would be in violation of Singapore’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the State in 2013.

APHR reiterates its firm stand against the death penalty as it is inhumane, an affront to human dignity, and violates the very foundation of all other human rights, the right to life.  In addition to being illegal under international law, there is also no compelling evidence that capital punishment deters crimes. 

APHR calls on Singapore to respect international laws and standards and stop the execution of Mr Nagaenthran. APHR also urges the Singaporean government to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, noting that judicial processes are not flawless and wrongful execution cannot be undone. Mandatory death sentences are inherently over-inclusive, and no one can give back a life once it is taken.