Viet Nam: Take action against the death penalty

Amnesty International Australia has issued a letter-writing action encouraging people to write to the Vietnamese government outlining human rights concerns about its use of the death penalty.

According to Amnesty International, there has been a "dramatic increase in Viet Nam's use of the death penalty, especially for drug-related crimes". The organisation is particularly concerned about the application of the death penalty for economic crimes such as embezzling state property, as well as drug-related offences.

The action says that: "Concern about the use of the death penalty in Viet Nam is compounded by the routine unfairness of trials that do not conform to international standards."

However, there are "some positive signs that the death penalty is being discussed within the Vietnamese government," and AI Australia is asking people to write to the government to encourage this discussion.

"These debates are an opportunity to point out that the death penalty has not been shown to be a more effective deterrent to crime, and to encourage Viet Nam to abolish the death penalty," the action says.