Why did Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh rush to execute Le Van Manh and lesson of not making concession to public?
The public was extremely surprised to hear the news that death row prisoner Le Van Manh was executed on the morning of September 22, after more than 18 years of complaining, in a case with many details and a lot of evidence are clear, which, according to lawyers, is not enough to convict him.
On September 23, one day after Vietnam carried out the death penalty on Le Van Manh, Mr. Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, in a statement about the execution of Le Van Manh, requested that the Vietnamese Government immediately reduce all death sentences, to prevent legal miscarriage, and move towards abolishing the death penalty immediately.
Mr. Phil Robertson said: ” Vietnam tries to hide the fact that it is one of the most prolific users of the death penalty in Asia and the world, but the execution of Le Van Manh is a striking example of everything that is wrong with the Vietnamese judicial system. The frequent use of torture by the police, and a far from independent court system, results in this kind of irreversible, fatally final punishment in case where the defendants’ strong alibi was disregarded. The Vietnamese government should immediately commute all death penalty sentences to stop these miscarriages of justice, and move forward to abolish the death penalty without delay.”
Among observers, some people have asked the question, why did the Thanh Hoa Provincial Court order the execution of Le Van Manh at this time? This was exactly one week after the decision to execute another death row prisoner, Nguyen Van Chuong, but failed.
Reality has shown the power of public opinion at home and abroad. The decision to execute Nguyen Van Chuong was announced by the Hai Phong Court to his family, giving rise to an unprecedented wave of protest, with countless people. Articles, letters, recommendations, sent directly to President Vo Van Thuong. All of this puts the Vietnamese government in an unavoidable situation, and is forced to postpone the execution of the sentence against Chuong, if it does not want to add fuel to the fire due to the heated reactions of public opinion.
Observers are completely reasonable in making comments, accordingly, in the notice sent to Le Van Manh’s family, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Court said that they carried out the death sentence on death row prisoner Le Van Manh, at the request of Department I, Supreme People’s Court, in the notice dated August 11, 2023. In the hierarchical system of the Supreme People’s Court, Department I cannot send official dispatches directly to Thanh Hoa Provincial Court, without direction from Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh.
As a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, Nguyen Hoa Binh is a key member of the supreme internal affairs agency. Certainly, Mr. Binh must discuss and unify within the Party to find consensus, before making the decision to execute the death penalty on death row prisoner Le Van Manh, which will certainly stir public opinion.
This shows that the decision to execute Le Van Manh was not a unilateral action from the Thanh Hoa Court, but a considered and carefully calculated decision of the Supreme People’s Court, or even of the Party leadership. This may be a response to previous public reaction, related to the execution of death row prisoner Nguyen Van Chuong.
Nguyen Hoa Binh in particular, or Vietnamese Communist leaders in general, instead of recognizing the reasonable points in public opinion’s demands on Nguyen Van Chuong’s case, then look directly at their shortcomings in judicial work, to make amends. However, with their arrogant Communist mindset, they always believe that the Party is “always right” with a monopoly on power. That is why, Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh once again refused to “lose to the people” and blindly believed that postponing the execution of the judgment was losing to public opinion. Having lost in the case of Nguyen Van Chuong, “if we lose this case, other cases will arise,“ it is necessary to immediately and immediately execute Le Van Manh, preventing public opinion from reacting in time.
Worth mentioning, the execution of Le Van Manh was planned more carefully and decisively than the case of Nguyen Van Chuong. Following instructions from Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh, the Enforcement Agency chose the right time to distract public opinion from Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang’s trial, and many social activists were closely monitored by the police. And they succeeded, Le Van Manh was executed quickly and neatly.
Both the political institutions and the judiciary in Vietnam today need fundamental and urgent changes. If the judiciary were not independent, there would still be many Le Van Manh, Nguyen Van Chuong, Ho Duy Hai… who would be unfairly sentenced to death. Change must be made so that human life and freedom are respected and protected, rather than being a game or a tool of power for an individual or a group of people./.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
