Vietnam: Lift the death sentence of Phan Minh Man
| Publisher | International Federation for Human Rights |
| Publication Date | 3 August 2010 |
| Cite as | International Federation for Human Rights, Vietnam: Lift the death sentence of Phan Minh Man, 3 August 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c752b30c.html [accessed 2 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
3 August 2010
Paris, 03 August 2010: The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) calls upon the Vietnamese authorities to lift the sentence of Phan Minh Man, a 20 year-old student condemned to death on 17 July 2010 by the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for the murder of his father. FIDH reiterates its appeal to Vietnam to abolish the death penalty.
According to the information received by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, an affiliated member of the International Federation for Human Rights, Phan Minh Man belonged to a very poor family and was studying at the Phu Lam school of advanced economic studies. The young man, his mother and other family members, were victims of extreme violence by his alcoholic father on a daily basis. As his mother stated:"Since he was a little boy, he endured his father's violence without a word. When his father beat him, he ran away. When his father beat me and his sibling, he rushed in to stop it. Not once, in more than 10 years of beatings, did he ever talk back at his father".
FIDH echoes the concerns expressed by its affiliated member, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, that domestic violence, in a context of extreme poverty is a phenomenon affecting several thousands families in the country today. As official statistics published in State media confirm every three days one woman is losing her life, victim of domestic and/or conjugal violence.
While FIDH is opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances, the Organisation expresses its firm belief that the Court should have taken into account the mitigating factors, in particular the social and economic background, in the case of Phan Minh Man. FIDH reminds the Vietnamese authorities that, as current chair of ASEAN, they should send to the international community a signal of humanity and respect of human life and take meaningful steps towards the abolition of this inhuman practice.
