Vietnam grants amnesty to 2,400 prisoners on National Day holiday

Inmates amnestied are those that have served at least half of their prison terms or 15 years.

Inmates must also finish paid compensation as regulated by the court.

However, inmates that paid only half of the compensation due to their financial situation are still considered for amnesty. This rule, however, is not applied to inmates charged with corruption.

Major General Nguyen Van Long, Deputy Minister of Public Security, said the inmates and their families on the list for amnesty this year had paid compensation exceeding VND67 billion ($2.87 million), with the highest payment made by an inmate of VND4 billion.

Among them are 16 foreigners, including four Chinese and three Americans, he said.

Two foreigners were among 10 inmates whose death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.

Prisoners belonging to the list of achieving merits, suffering from serious illness, frequent illness or disabilities, and having reached a full 70 years of age or are the sole worker in a family with financial problems, female prisoners that are either pregnant or must take care of their kids under 3 years old are also subjected to amnesty if they have served at least one-third of their sentences, or 13 years (applicable to prisoners with a reduced life sentence).

Pham Thanh Ha, deputy chairman of the President’s Office, said the conditions for amnesty this year have been tightened, resulting in fewer inmates being amnestied compared to 3,035 last year.

Between 2009 and 2016, Vietnam granted amnesty to nearly 90,000 prisoners.