We introduce the second part, analyzing the role of President Vo Van Thuong related to Regulation No. 132-QD/TW of the Politburo, and the political life of scandalous Chief Justice of the People’s Supreme Court Nguyen Hoa Binh.
On September 22, Thanh Hoa Provincial Court suddenly executed the sentence against death row prisoner Le Van Manh. The incident occurred right after the campaign to postpone the execution of death row prisoner Nguyen Van Chuong was considered successful.
Previously, lawyer Le Van Hoa mobilized the online community to sign, send petitions and messages to President Vo Van Thuong. According to attorney Hoa, he wrote on his personal Facebook page, informing the community that: „The President has received the message and is giving instructions to resolve it.“
Previously, knowledgeable people revealed that Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh had issued a policy to carry out the execution of sentences for defendants considered to be unjustly executed. This policy aims to not let scandalous cases such as Ho Duy Hai, Nguyen Van Chuong, Le Duy Manh… affect the political future of Chief Justice Binh, before the race for high-ranking personnel at the 14th Party National Congress scheduled in early 2026.
That is why, in two consecutive months of July and August 2023, the Hai Phong Court had just announced the execution of the death sentence against defendant Nguyen Van Chuong, and then, it was the turn of the Thanh Hoa Court announced the execution of the sentence against defendant Le Van Manh, and they carried it out immediately afterward.
In the article, „A glass of human blood“ by social activist, journalist Nguyen Anh Tuan raised the issue:
“Some people ask the question, why did Thanh Hoa province court order Manh’s execution now?
We will find the answer in the notice they sent to their families.
Accordingly, they executed Manh Can’s judgment at the request of Department I, Supreme People’s Court through an official dispatch dated August 11, 2023.
In the hierarchical system of the power apparatus in Vietnam, we know that Department I cannot send this official dispatch without the direction of Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh.
Chief Justice Binh, in turn, must have discussed carefully in the supreme internal affairs agency, the Secretariat, of which he [Binh] is a key member, to seek consensus for a decision that will certainly caused a stir in public opinion.“
Journalist Nguyen Anh Tuan’s opinion is consistent with the assessment of knowledgeable people, saying that the decision to hastily execute death row prisoner Le Van Manh is not a spontaneous action from the leaders of Thanh Hoa Provincial Court but it was a considered and calculated decision by the highest-ranking leader of the court sector – Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh.
The question is: Why do they have to do this? According to Nguyen Anh Tuan:
“Look at the time Department I sent the dispatch, August 11, 2023 – one week after the decision to execute another death row prisoner, Nguyen Van Chuong.
The decision to execute the Attorney General on August 4, 2023 has sparked an unprecedented wave of protests, with countless articles, letters, and petitions aimed directly at President Vo Van Thuong, putting the government in a difficult situation. Therefore, we must postpone the execution of the sentence, if we do not want to add fuel to the fire of boiling public opinion.“
Public opinion says that Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh, with his tradition of not giving up to anyone, not giving up to the people, and… especially not giving up to new President Vo Van Thuong – a „red seed“ person who was organized from the egg.
Because he refused to lose, Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh „if he lost one case, he would show another one„, and ordered the execution of the sentence with defendant Le Van Manh immediately.
According to observers, new President Vo Van Thuong will certainly not forgive Nguyen Hoa Binh for his „blasphemous“ action – stroking the face without respecting the nose – in the relationship with comrades in the Party.
In the role of the state, the position of President according to the Vietnamese Constitution stipulates: „… is the head of state, representing the state in domestic and foreign relations. The President is also known as the Head of State.
To see that, President Vo Van Thuong, in his role as one of the „four pillars“ – the four most senior figures of the Communist Party of Vietnam – can hardly „advise“ Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh. This explains why, recently, Mr. Binh has often appeared to confirm that the court branch does not allow miscarriages of justice.
Public opinion sees that it is extremely necessary for the Politburo to issue regulation No. 132-QD/TW to control the power of judicial agencies, especially the court sector. In a context where the Vietnamese people have completely lost faith in a legal system that has never been seen before.
But in a one-party political system like Vietnam today, the requirement to have three separate powers, with the legislature, executive and judiciary operating independently and controlling each other, is unthinkable.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
