Latest news on Trinh Xuan Thanh case: 3 more defendants prosecuted

Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh said that in addition to Trinh Xuan Thanh, the investigation agency has prosecuted three other defendants.

At the question-and-answer session before the National Assembly this morning, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Thai Nguyen Province, Hoang Van Hung, asked the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court to clarify how many cases with signs of omission have been discovered so far and have been prosecuted by the People's Courts at all levels in order to prevent omission of criminals.

“After the prosecution, can the court monitor the authorities to continue with the criminal proceedings? So far, what are the results of the cases prosecuted by the court?”, the delegate asked.

In response, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh said that in terms of functions and duties, in addition to sentencing, the court has the right to initiate criminal proceedings, prosecute defendants in court and recommend prosecution.

Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh. Photo: Hoang Anh

Although the law allows it, it requires that the conditions are met before initiating a prosecution. In such a consideration, the panel of judges usually chooses the solution of recommending the People's Procuracy and the investigation agency to initiate an investigation rather than initiating a prosecution in court, except in cases with very clear signs.

Regarding prosecution in court, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court said that there have only been 12 cases, a modest number. During the prosecution in court, the responsibility of the trial level is to monitor the decision to prosecute. The investigation agency and the People's Procuracy also cooperated and invited the court to participate in these cases during the investigation and prosecution process.

For example, the court recommended prosecuting the Oceanbank case regarding the oil and gas corporation's losses, and the investigation agency later also prosecuted this case.

“In the Trinh Xuan Thanh case, at the beginning of this year, the court additionally prosecuted Trinh Xuan Thanh in the appeal trial for embezzlement of tens of billions. Two days ago, the investigation agency met with us and is investigating in that direction. There are many additional documents, so in addition to Trinh Xuan Thanh, three other defendants have been additionally prosecuted,” Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh informed.

According to Mr. Binh, the reason why the number of prosecutions in the whole country is still modest is due to the caution of the judges, but he assessed that this is effective.

Considering compensation for 28-year wrongful conviction in Dien Bien

National Assembly Deputy Le Ngoc Hai (Quang Nam) questioned the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court about the case of a mother and her two children who were wrongly convicted for 28 years of killing their husband and father at the foot of Pha Din Pass (Dien Bien).

According to the Quang Nam Provincial Delegate, recently, public opinion was outraged by the serious wrongful conviction of 3 people in the same family in Tuan Giao - Dien Bien. Ms. Dang Thi Nga (80 years old) and her 2 sons, Trinh Cong Hieu and Trinh Huy Duong, were convicted of murdering her husband and father. All 3 mother and sons were imprisoned after 28 years. Unable to bear the injustice, Ms. Nga's son, Trinh Cong Hieu, passed away, carrying with him the injustice of killing his father.

On October 24, the Dien Bien prosecution agency determined that the case was a miscarriage of justice and held a public apology to the victim’s family. The consequences for the victim’s family were enormous. “I request the Chief Justice to clarify which organization or individual is responsible for the miscarriage of justice? How will the responsibility be handled?”, the National Assembly delegate questioned.

Regarding the wrongful conviction of the mother and her three children in Dien Bien, Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh said that this was a very regrettable case that happened a long time ago, 28 years ago, and someone had died. He said that when a National Assembly member sent him the case file, he saw signs of wrongful conviction.

“In fact, the Supreme Court annulled this case in 2003. After annulment, it was left at the investigation agency until now without a final conclusion. When the National Assembly deputies sent me the information for verification, I based on the initial autopsy report, the cause of death was a fractured skull. The Supreme People's Court requested a second autopsy and the skull was still intact. In a short time, we confirmed that this was a wrongful conviction, so we suspended the case and apologized to the family,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court informed.

The next job, he said, is to compensate the wrongly accused, which is being carried out according to regulations.

Regarding the issue of responsibility that the National Assembly member mentioned, he said that there will definitely be disciplinary action. “First of all, the three agencies conducting the prosecution in Dien Bien must review the records, review and handle the case according to regulations in all three stages of investigation, prosecution and trial,” he said.

According to Vietnamnet.vn