Vietnam
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- communist state
- CONSTITUTION
- April 15, 1992
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on communist theory and the French system
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- People's Supreme Court, head elected for five years by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the President
RELIGIONS
9.3% Buddhists, 6.7% Catholics, other minorities, 80% none
From the country
MARCH 16, 2026VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 4 GET DEATH PENALTY IN HO CHI MINH CITY'S DRUG TRAFFICKING RING
The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on March 12, 2026 sentenced four defendants to death for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking ring in the city.
NOVEMBER 27, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POISONING 4 FAMILY MEMBERS WITH CYANIDE
A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on November 27, 2025 for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community.
- AUGUST 24, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: KENYAN MARGARET NDUTA'S DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING COMMUTED TO LIFE
Margaret Nduta, the Kenyan woman condemned to death in Vietnam for drug trafficking, can now heave a sigh of relief after a Vietnamese court on July 31, 2025 commuted her death penalty to a life sentence.
JULY 9, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDERING ENTIRE FAMILY
A man who murdered four members of his own family to free them from poverty has been sentenced to death by a Hanoi court on July 8, 2025.
JULY 3, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 11 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The Hanoi People's Court sentenced two suspended police officers to death for transporting drugs and "assisting and covering up" in the trafficking of nearly 140 kg of narcotics.
- JUNE 26, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM ENDS DEATH PENALTY FOR 8 CRIMES, MAY SPARE REAL ESTATE TYCOON
Vietnam has lifted the death penalty for eight crimes in legal reforms that may spare the life of a real estate tycoon imprisoned in the country’s largest financial fraud case, AP reported on June 26, 2025.
JUNE 24, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: DEATH PENALTIES HANDED TO THREE DRUG TRAFFICKERS
A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced three drug traffickers to death for smuggling and selling more than 50 kilos of heroin and synthetic drugs, state media reported on June 18, 2025.
MAY 29, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: KOREAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING FATHER WHO DEFENDED DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
A Korean man living in Vietnam has been sentenced to death for brutally murdering his father, who had flown in from South Korea to intervene in a family dispute and support his daughter-in-law.
- APRIL 28, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: 9 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SMUGGLING 91 KG OF DRUGS FROM CAMBODIA
Nine individuals received death sentences on April 26, 2025 for their roles in a major drug trafficking ring, which smuggled 91 kilograms of drugs hidden inside air purifiers and motorbikes from Cambodia into Vietnam.
- APRIL 14, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM TO REPLACE DEATH PENALTY WITH LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT PAROLE
Vietnam is considering a significant proposal in the draft amendment to the 2025 Penal Code by replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment without parole, and the proposal was discussed at a thematic session on law-making of the government in Hanoi
MARCH 27, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: DOCTOR GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR DISMEMBERING MISTRESS
A 37-year-old married doctor who murdered and dismembered his mistress was sentenced to death by the People’s Court in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam on March 18, 2025.
MARCH 9, 2025VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: KENYAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING 2 KG OF DRUGS
A Kenyan woman in Ho Chi Minh City was sentenced to death for trafficking over 2 kg of drugs through Tan Son Nhat Airport.