Amnesty would be granted to thousands of prisoners and parolees today on the occasion of the country's National Day, announced Giang Son, deputy director of the Presidential Office at a press conference in Hanoi yesterday.
President Truong Tan Sang signed a decision last Thursday granting amnesty to 10,244 prisoners and 291 parolees, he said.
"This amnesty once again manifests and reconfirms the Party and Government's lenient policy and our nation's humanitarian tradition towards people who have shown repentance and a desire to redeem their faults and become useful citizens," he said.
The prisoners were convicted by the courts of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in accordance with the Vietnam Criminal Code and the Vietnam Criminal Procedural Code, he said.
"This year's amnesty is being conducted under the principles of strictness, transparency and democracy. All prisoners meeting the criteria set by the National Amnesty Advisory Council will be granted amnesty, regardless of his or her nationality," Giang emphasised.
Lieutenant General Nguyen Quy Vuong told reporters that 11 foreign prisoners had been included in the amnesty. Five others were convicted of encroaching on Viet Nam's national security while 111 were convicted of abuse of power.
Among the 10,244 prisoners receiving amnesty, 1,333 are women, 29 are over 70 years old and 150 are former civil servants or public employees.
The first amnesty for 2011 will take effect immediately in all prisons, including temporary prisons under the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence following the publication of the President's decision.
Fresh start
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked Party executive committees and local authorities not to discriminate against prison inmates granted amnesty and those people who had finished their jail sentences.
He made the request during a working visit to Thanh Xuan jail in Hanoi yesterday.
He called upon the authorities to create favourable conditions to help rehabilitate inmates, stabilise their lives and reintegrate them into community.
Phuc was also chairman of the Amnesty Advisory Council.
Phuc reminded the inmates to try their best to become good and useful citizens to society.
One inmate, Ma Thi Chung, expressed her gratitude for the Party's and Government's leniency policy, promising to stabilise her life, abide by the law and work hard to contribute to the country's building.
As many as 148 inmates at the jail received amnesty, six of whom were of foreign nationality.
President Truong Tan Sang signed a decision last Thursday granting amnesty to 10,244 prisoners and 291 parolees, he said.