Talking with Mr. Hieu Minh, Former Expert of the World Bank, a Blogger quite familiar to Vietnamese readers.

Mr. Hieu Minh, Former Expert of the World Bank

As someone who has lived abroad for many years, could you please share information about how foreign press published images of suspects?

Thank you for your question. I have lived abroad for quite a while, I am very surprised by the way the Vietnamese press often accuses instead of the court. That is a completely bad way, until recently the press has improved a lot in the way it calls people suspects, suspects. Those are words that the press often uses when the court has not yet reached a conclusion, showing a progress that we can all clearly see.

Recently, we saw that Tuoi Tre newspaper registered a portrait of a bribery suspect. In my opinion, such a portrait sketch is good, although it is very similar to a real portrait. The sketch is only drawn with a few strokes, not too detailed. Usually, people do not draw the face looking straight but draw the face looking sideways and make it very difficult to recognize who the suspect is.

Portrait sketch of suspect published in Tuoi Tre newspaper

In foreign countries, people respect privacy very much. If the person who posted the information is sued, it is very dangerous. When attending a court session, people often draw with pencils, and then newspapers use those drawings to publish them. Except for controversial cases, when there is an agreement between the parties, live television images will be shown. Without an agreement, it is absolutely not allowed.

That way of behaving is very good and protects human rights. Because if the person is declared innocent by the court, their life will not be affected. But if the person is declared guilty, after they are punished, they still have the opportunity to reform and become a normal person again.

Therefore, even those who are convicted of crimes and sentenced to prison do not have their photos published. Except for some government officials. Why? Because that person used the people's tax money but he took a risk. The press has the right to "exploit" until the end. For example, the case of the Governor of a state involved in bribery was clearly exposed by the press. The press has the right to continuously publish the photos. But if that person is just an individual, the press does not have the right to publish the photos.

But sir, would doing as the Western press does, not taking photos or showing images of the trial, reduce the effectiveness of public supervision of the trials?

I think that even citizens present at court have already participated in supervising the trial. As journalists, they are able to participate and have the responsibility to convey that information to the public. Journalists or citizens still exercise their right to supervise. I think it does not affect this right to supervise.

If the press publishes real images, it will affect the human rights and civil rights of suspects, especially when they have not committed a crime. For example, Mr. Chan and Mr. Nen have been convicted many times but were eventually found to be wrongfully convicted. What will happen to their rights?

I think that in any public trial, journalists are allowed in, that is the eyes of the citizens. If lawmakers and both sides, the Procuracy and lawyers, further enhance their roles, many wrongful convictions will be reduced. However, wrongful convictions cannot be avoided, but they will be reduced.

Reducing wrongful convictions must come from the judicial system, further enhancing the role of lawyers and the prosecutor's office and providing more transparent information. That is the best way, but I do not think increasing the monitoring power of journalists will reduce wrongful convictions.

Sir, sometimes the release of personal photos of suspects is "assisted" by the prosecutor. Do you think that it is necessary to thoroughly inform even the prosecutors so as not to infringe upon the rights of suspects?

I think it is true that it must come from many sides. Lawyers, prosecutors and journalists must clearly understand the personal privacy rights of these “suspects”. On the press side, when publishing any images related to individuals, they must consider the impact on the lives of the person posting them and their families. Privacy regulations do not only apply to journalists, but all citizens and organizations must strictly comply with them.

Through monitoring, I see that the progress of our country's courts has been quite clear. For example, in the past, whenever a defendant, whether guilty or innocent, went to court, he often wore a "watermelon striped" shirt (a prison uniform). This was not the right thing to do. Since the defendants were able to get rid of this outfit, things have changed a lot.

If sketching can be applied in court, it will be another step forward. The sketch must show that the incident occurred, but the faces of the defendant and the participants, except the judge, must not be clearly shown. If you look at newspapers in developed countries, you will see clearly.

In my opinion, there should be a regulation in the code of conduct for journalists stating that “newspapers, when publishing images of suspects, defendants, and court cases, are not allowed to use real photos, but only sketches”. This way, there will be consistency and the best guarantee of human rights.

Thank you!

According to Infonet