VietNamNet Bridge – He was innocent, but the 52-year-old Nguyen Thanh Chan was jailed for life for the murder ten years ago of a woman he never committed. The case should have never been brought to light if the real culprit had not finally turned himself in to police last month and Chan was released from prison early this week. The highly emotional news with all incredible details has in the past few days been front-paged in most local newspapers, which apart from the grievances of the single victim question the reliability of court proceedings in the country that may have victimized many others.

Nguyen Thanh Chan was released from prison.

As covered in local media, the case began in August 2003 when a woman was murdered at her house in Bac Giang Province. Two weeks later, Nguyen Thanh Chan was summoned as a key suspect by Bac Giang police, who one month later filed formal charges of murder against the man. Bac Giang Court in the first-instance hearing in late March 2004 sentenced Chan to life behind bars, and the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court four months later.

On October 25, the real culprit gave himself in to police as the killer, and then, Chan was temporarily released from jail this Monday while pending further court procedures to be claimed innocent.

In the aftermath of the release, details of court proceedings and detention revealed by Chan are appalling to all, from National Assembly deputies to officials, and from law experts to the widespread public.

“Studying the dossiers, I found that the evidence was all unfounded, without any witnesses at all. The prosecutor cited the footprints, but such were not enough as they were not fingerprints to pinpoint the culprit,” says the lawyer.

Meanwhile, the defendant’s alibi was not accepted by the court. The lawyer says some people saw Chan at a telephone desk at the time the murder was believed to take place, and data from the telephone service provider proved a call was made at the time, but such evidence was rejected by the court, according to Vnexpress.

In Nguoi Lao Dong, Chan says investigators had sought to extort depositions from him as well as primed him what to say before the court.

“I was tortured days in days out, I was threatened with death by investigators wielding a knife or a hammer, … and I was told what to say or practice how to react the murder before the court,” says Chan.

“I had to plead guilty. They (investigators) did all to force me to plead guilty. They forced me to learn by heart how to commit the murder. I had to follow them, because I was scared,” Phap Luat reports, quoting the victim.

Referring to what appeared in the court of appeal, Phap Luat says “it is a perfect play” as the presiding judge related how Chan courted the woman for sex, and how he killed her after being refused.

The lack of remorsefulness – and the absence of accountability – on the part of prosecutors and judges also partially explain why they could have handed down such a groundless sentence.

Nguyen Minh Nang, presiding judge in the first-instance hearing, says in Tuoi Tre that “the court ruling then was based on evidence… Now the responsibility rests with the National Assembly.” Meanwhile, Tran Van Duyen, another judge at the court trying Chan, claims that “as the court of appeal upheld the verdict, that means we gave the right verdict, and now we have no responsibility.”

National Assembly deputies attending the sitting in Hanoi have voiced their concern over the whole process, and many suggested changes to jurisdiction to avoid gross injustice imposed on the people.

Deputy Truong Trong Nghia says in Tuoi Tre that as long as extortion of depositions from defendants is not put to an end, as long as the principle of assuming a person innocent until proven otherwise by a court is not adhered to, and as long as basic rights of the accused are not ensured, there will still be innocent people being falsely found guilty. Such rights, according to Lao Dong, include the right to remain silent, and the right to legal assistance from lawyers from the very beginning of juridical proceedings.

Le Thi Nga, vice chair of the NA Legislation Commission, ponders in Tuoi Tre why many letters of denunciation from Chan and his family have not been properly considered by court officials over the years, though his case after the appeal had not been exhausted since there was also the court of last resort.

Nga suggests that all court rulings should be reviewed if the convicted people repeatedly claim to be innocent over a long time.

Lao Dong says that the court case shows the contempt of the law and the absence of respect towards the people’s life, and there must be drastic measures to put to an immediate stop the practice of police priming defendants what to say before the court. The paper questions “how many innocent people are still behind bars,” a question that will bite the human conscience for long.

The man, who was lucky enough not to be condemned to death, is surely not the only victim, and many other victims might have been suffering from gross injustice. Such wrongdoings could only be minimized if drastic changes were made to the current jurisdiction practices.

Source: SGT