Fighting for Nguyen Van Chuong’s Life: Father of Wrongfully Convicted Man Speaks Out
In this video, Nguyen Truong Chinh, the father of death row inmate Nguyen Van Chuong, shares his journey seeking justice for his son. Chuong is widely believed to be wrongfully convicted.
Despite flaws in the judicial process used to convict Chuong, which have not yet been addressed, on August 4, 2023, the Hai Phong City People’s Court contacted the family about receiving Chuong’s body after execution, confirming that his execution order has been approved.
Project 88 invites you to listen to Nguyen Truong Chinh and share the video to amplify Nguyen Van Chuong’s case (videos below with both Vietnamese and English subtitles).
Background: Vietnam and the Use of the Death Penalty
Nguyen Van Chuong was arrested on August 3, 2007, and sentenced to death for the alleged murder of a police officer. He has been imprisoned for 16 years. In that time, Chuong’s family has tirelessly advocated for his release, sending petitions to the government on his behalf. Read an analysis by The Vietnamese of the case and a corresponding timeline of alleged judicial issues.
Amnesty International reported that Vietnam handed out at least 102 death sentences in 2022, and at the end of 2022, over 1200 people were known to be under the sentence of death in the country. However, the real numbers could be much higher, as “restrictive state practices, particularly in North Korea and Viet Nam, continued to impede an accurate assessment of the use of the death penalty in the Asia-Pacific region, which has the highest number of executions in the world.”
Also, contrary to international human rights law, Vietnam continues to use the death penalty in cases of certain economic crimes and drug offenses. These facts, coupled with Vietnam’s lack of an independent judiciary and a prison system marred by allegations of mistreatment, raise serious concerns about reported procedural irregularities in Chuong’s case.
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Vietnamese interview with English subtitles
Vietnamese interview with Vietnamese subtitles
Filmed February 2020
© 2023 The 88 Project
