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| A policeman guards Ho Chi Minh City courthouse |
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VIETNAM. BRITISH MAN ESCAPES DEATH SENTENCE
April 4, 2008: A Vietnamese-born British citizen condemned to death for heroin trafficking has had his sentence commuted to life in prison by Vietnam's president, the British Embassy says.
President Nguyen Minh Triet commuted Le Manh Luong's sentence last month, the British Embassy said in a statement.
The British government "is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances," it said.
The embassy said the British government made a number of appeals to spare Luong from the firing squad.
In 2006, Luong and three other Vietnamese defendants were sentenced to death for their involvement in a drug ring that trafficked 339 kilograms (746 pounds) of heroin from Laos to Hong Kong and China via Vietnam.
An appeals court last year upheld the death sentences.
At least 104 people were condemned to die in Vietnam in 2007, while another 15, including one Australian, have received the death sentence since the start of the year, according to numbers compiled by AFP and from local media. (Sources: Ap, Afp, 04/04/2008)
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