Vietnam may return to using firing squads to execute its growing number of condemned criminals after a planned switch to lethal injections last month ran into a shortage of the needed chemicals, state media and people familiar with the situation said.
The Ministry of Public Security, which runs the prison system, is seeking approval from the legislature to reinstate firing squads while awaiting production of lethal chemicals, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. The ministry wasn't reachable for comment, but the Phap Luat Vietnam newspaper, which is close to the ministry, reported earlier this week about the request before the legislature.
"We don't know yet when the chemicals can be produced domestically, so using the firing squads for the time being is necessary given that the number of death-row inmates is rising," the person said.
Vietnam planned to start lethal injections in November 2011 using imported chemicals, but state media reported in May citing Health Ministry officials that European countries had refused to export the chemicals after learning they would be used for executions.
The government ordered the Health Ministry to sufficiently supply the chemicals by June 27, but the goals haven't been met. The chemicals include sodium thiopental to stop the nerve system, pancuronium bromide to stop the muscular system and potassium chloride to stop the heart.
Meanwhile, the number of death row inmates has been rising. There are now 568 condemned prisoners, state media said Thursday, citing data from the Supreme People's Procuracy. That's around 40% more than 2 years ago.
Nguyen Viet Hung, chief of the office of the Supreme People's Procuracy, told local media Wednesday that lawmakers haven't made any decision on the proposal to reinstate firing squads. They next meet in October.
Vietnam's penal code allows the death penalty for 29 crimes, from murder and terrorism to receiving bribes of 300 million dong (US$14,300) or more, but the vast majority of those on death row are there for drug offenses. Producing, smuggling or transporting 100 grams or more of heroin or cocaine is punishable by death.
An official with the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday that domestically produced lethal drugs have so far been "successfully tested on animals" in the country's labs. The communist country is also considering importing the chemicals made in Thailand, which changed its method of execution from firing squads to lethal injection in 2003.
"Keeping the prisoners waiting for the execution longer will put more mental pressure on them, causing difficulties for prison management," Pham Quoc Anh, president of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, was quoted by Giao Thong Van Tai newspaper as saying Thursday. Condemned inmates are locked in solitary confinement for years before they are executed.
Amnesty International, in a statement posted on its website last month, called on Vietnamese authorities to immediately halt any plans to resume executions, commute all death sentences and reduce the number of offenses punishable by the death penalty. It said execution is the "ultimate form of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and a violation on the right to life."
At least 38 executions were reported to have been carried out in the Asia-Pacific region last year, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Japan, North Korea and Taiwan, according to Amnesty. The figures don't include thousands of executions believed to have occurred in China, Amnesty said, adding that it was impossible to obtain an accurate data on capital punishment in China due to secrecy.
Source: Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2013
