The death penalty in Viet Nam is an optional punishment for 44 offenses. Although legislators there have recently discussed reducing this number, death sentences continue to be handed down regularly. According to cases reported in the official media, around 46 people have been sentenced to death and seven people have been executed. As the authorities do not make public full statistics, the actual numbers are believed to higher. There is also concern about the fairness of some trials. This document includes appeals for Tran Dam and Phung Long That, sentenced to death on 29 April 1999 for smuggling; and in another case, Tang Minh Phung, Lien Khiu Thin, Pham Nhat Hong, Nguyen Ngoc Bich, Nguyen Tan Phuc and Nguyen Xuan Phong, who were sentenced to death on 4 August for fraud and corruption.
