Death Row Briton to be Spared Execution
03.04.2008
Reprieve is pleased to announce that the death sentence faced by mentally ill British citizen Le Manh Luong has been lifted. Reprieve led the campaign against his execution and attracted widespread support at the highest levels. Representations were made to the Vietnamese President by the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the former Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, MPs, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, MEPs, the Mayor of London and the Bishop of Westminster, among others. A petition on the Downing Street website was signed by over 1,400 people.
Mr Luong has been on Death Row in Vietnam since 25 November 2006, after being convicted of drug trafficking. Brain-damaged after his house was bombed by an American B-52 bomber during the Vietnam War, he faced execution by firing squad before President Nguyen Minh Triet granted him clemency. This means that Mr Luong will be removed from death row and will instead begin to serve a life sentence.
Clive Stafford Smith, Director of Reprieve, said today:
“We are absolutely delighted that President Nguyen Minh Triet has decided to grant Mr Luong clemency. Much of the credit is due to Tony Blair who made a personal appeal for clemency. If an ethical foreign policy means anything, it is quite right that the PM should put life or death at the top of his agenda. Just as Mr Luong’s family can thankfully move on with their lives, so we at Reprieve must continue the fight on behalf of the British prisoners who face execution in the U.S., China, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan and elsewhere.”
Reprieve has fought tirelessly alongside his family based in South London .for Mr Luong to be saved from the death penalty.
Reprieve Legal Advisor Hayley Ichilcik, who attended Mr Luong’s appeal in February 2007, said today:
“This is fantastic news. Mr Luong no longer has the shadow of execution hanging over him. He will be moved from death row and the shackles which were welded round his wrists and ankles can be removed. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this successful campaign.”
Thanh Le, Mr Luong’s niece and spokesperson for the family said:
“We are so happy. Now we can go and visit him and he will have the horrific ankle and wrist shackles removed.
“My uncle’s death sentence has put an incredible strain on the family but we have been overwhelmed by the support for him. I am so grateful to the President of Vietnam for sparing my uncle’s life – and to Reprieve for holding my hand throughout this process and tirelessly campaigning on behalf of someone they never met.”
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For further information or interviews please contact the Reprieve Press office on: 020 7427 1099.
Notes to editors:
1. Mr Luong sustained a serious brain injury during the Vietnam War when a B-52 bomber landed on his house killing two of his brothers and slicing off part of his head. This required multiple operations and he was hospitalised for two years. In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, he left Vietnam as one of the ‘boat people’, arriving in Hong Kong in 1980. He then moved to London in 1983, where he lived until his arrest in 2004. He has two British sons and an extended family in south east London.
2. Mr Luong suffers from clinical depression and experiences suicidal tendencies. During his initial trial for drug smuggling, he was heard asking the court questions such as, “What is heroin?” and “What is a weapon?” His lawyer believes that the other defendants used him as a scapegoat, fully aware of his mental health issues.
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