Vietnam chooses 5 best lawyers to provide legal support for Doan Thi Huong

Speaking with Dan Tri reporter on the afternoon of March 4, Mr. Phan Trung Hoai - Vice President of the Vietnam Bar Federation - said that the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Bar Federation agreed and requested the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Bar Associations to introduce two lawyers each who meet the necessary conditions to, together with a Vice President of the Vietnam Bar Federation, provide legal support to citizen Doan Thi Huong.

Doan Thi Huong (second from right) appeared in court on March 1 (Photo: EPA)

“The Executive Boards of the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Bar Associations will select each group of two best lawyers who meet the necessary conditions to join a Vice President of the Vietnam Bar Federation to join the working delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice to provide legal support to citizen Doan Thi Huong,” said lawyer Phan Trung Hoai.

It is expected that the Vietnam Bar Federation will establish a group of experts in charge of collecting evidence in Vietnam to provide documents for lawyers who are allowed to directly participate in litigation in Malaysian courts.

The Vietnam Bar Federation, together with the Vietnam Lawyers Association, will coordinate with the Malaysian Bar Federation to complete procedures to hire a defense attorney to protect suspect Doan Thi Huong at the trial in accordance with the regulations of the host country.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Bar Federation Do Ngoc Thinh said that each country has the right to autonomy in litigation, similar to the fact that foreign lawyers are not allowed to participate in litigation in Vietnam if there are no common commitments and agreements between the two countries on justice.

“The lawyers who want to participate in providing legal support in this case are all lawyers with international experience, full English proficiency, and a lot of experience to be ready to participate in protecting Vietnamese citizens,” Mr. Thinh informed.

According to Mr. Thinh, the lawyers will carefully study the case file, the laws of the host country as well as evidence and proof to be able to minimize the sentence for a Vietnamese citizen involved in this serious incident.

"Personally, I hope Doan Thi Huong will not commit a crime," Mr. Thinh said.

Previously, on March 2, a representative of the Consular Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) met with the family of citizen Doan Thi Huong to explain the proceedings of the case and guide the family on providing legal support for Huong in accordance with the laws of the host country and international practices.

The Consular Department also informed Doan Thi Huong's family that the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia had visited the consulate and inquired about Huong's health.

On the morning of March 1, after the 14-day detention period ended, the suspects in the murder of North Korean citizen Kim Chol, including Vietnamese citizen Doan Thi Huong, were brought to the Sepang District Court, Selangor State (Malaysia) to hear the prosecutor read the indictment. A representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia was present to protect the legal rights of citizen Doan Thi Huong at this trial.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia is continuing to implement citizen protection measures within its jurisdiction to ensure that the proceedings are fair, objective, and non-discriminatory, as well as to ensure all legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens.

According to Dan Tri