Kenyan lady Margaret Nduta was sentenced to death in Vietnam after she was found guilty of ferrying drugs to Vietnam in July of 2023.
Nduta’s family has been pleading with the Kenyan government to save but the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has not commented on the proceedings.
According to the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR) 2016 report, the country conducted the executions through a firing squad for many years.
VCHR said the criminals were taken before dawn to a desolate site, read the court’s verdict, offered a bowl of noodle soup and a cigarette, and allowed to write a last letter home.
Then they were tied to a wooden pole, gagged with a lemon and blindfolded, and shot by five policemen.
The commander then fired a last “humane shot” into the convict’s ear.
However, in June 2010, the National Assembly passed the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgements to carry out executions by lethal injections rather than the firing squad.
It also allows relatives of the executed to retrieve their bodies for burial.
This was to make the executions “more humane” and relieve the psychological pressure on executors, many of whom were suffering from trauma.
3- Steps in the Execution Process
Lethal injection in Vietnam typically involves a three-drug protocol, which includes:
1. Anesthetic (to induce unconsciousness).
2 . Paralytic agent (to stop muscle movement).
3 . Lethal drug (to stop the heart).
Crimes Punishable by Death in Vietnam
Vietnam uses the death penalty for offences which cover a wide range of crimes.
Among the offences include crimes against national security like treason, espionage and acts intended to overthrow the government.
Treason refers to acts against the state or aiding foreign forces, while espionage means leaking state secrets or spying.
It also applies to crimes involving violence like murder and rape of a person under 16.
Article 251 of the Vietnam Constitution also lists illegal production, trafficking, or transportation of drugs as one of the offences punishable by death.
Also Read: Ruto Asked to Save Kenyan Woman Facing Death Sentence in Vietnam
Possession or smuggling of 100g or more of heroin or cocaine, or 5 kilograms or more of cannabis and other opiates, is punishable by death.
Embezzlement or corruption are also punishable by execution.
However, the amount involved must be more than VND 1 billion (~$40,000) and results in major damage to the state.
For instance, real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for $12.5 billion fraud in 2024.
Other crimes include war crimes, crimes against humanity and hijacking aircraft or ships.
Also Read: Kenyan Mother Begs to See Daughter Before She is Executed in Vietnam
Changes & Exemptions in the Execution Law
In 2000, Vietnam changed the death sentences to life imprisonment for pregnant women and mothers of children under 3 years old.
Further, the number of crimes was drastically reduced to 22 in 2009 from 44 in 1999.
Vietnam amended the Act further in 2015 after recommendations by Norway.
The review abolished the death penalty for an additional seven crimes, leaving the punishable offences at 15.
It also waived capital punishment for people aged 75 and more and commuted death sentences to life imprisonment for official corruption if the officials paid back at least 75% of their illegal gains.
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