Vietnam
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Since 1997, possession or smuggling at least 100g or...
- News items in the archive
- 784
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Vietnam is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 784 news items on Vietnam, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- APRIL 24, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: 2 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRANSPORTING 31 KG OF METHAMPHETAMINE
A Ha Tinh court on 20 April 2021 sentenced two people to death and another to life imprisonment for transporting 31 kg of methamphetamine.
APRIL 13, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: NIGERIAN DRUG TRANSPORTER SENTENCED TO DEATH
The People’s Court of the southwestern province of Tay Ninh on 13 April 2021 sentenced Unachukwu Chiluba Paulinus, a Nigerian man born in 1996, to death for illegally transporting narcotic substances under Clause 4, Article 250 of the 2015 Penal Code.
- APRIL 4, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING NEARLY 40KG OF DRUGS FROM CAMBODIA
A court in southern An Giang Province sentenced two men to death on 1 April 2021 for trafficking almost 40kg of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam in May last year.
MARCH 31, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRADING DRUGS IN NORTH-CENTRAL PROVINCES
Two defendants on 30 March 2021 were sentenced to death for drug-related offenses in two separate cases in the north-central Vietnamese provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
MARCH 30, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: ACTIVISTS FACING DEATH REFUSE TO PLEAD FOR AMNESTY, ASSERTING INNOCENCE
Two Vietnamese land-rights activists facing the death penalty after being convicted for their roles in a deadly clash with police last year at the Dong Tam commune outside Hanoi are refusing to ask for amnesty in the case, saying the move would amount to
- MARCH 13, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM UPHOLDS FARMERS' DEATH PENALTY OVER LAND CLASH
A court in Hanoi on 9 March 2021 rejected the appeals of two brothers sentenced to death for their part in a bloody confrontation with police over land rights.
MARCH 3, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: NIGERIAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRANSPORTING NEARLY 4KG OF METH
The People’s Court of the southern border province of Tay Ninh on 2 March 2021 handed down the death penalty to a Nigerian man for illegally transporting nearly 4kg of meth, in line with the 2015 Criminal Code.
FEBRUARY 2, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SIX PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A court in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh city sentenced six members of a transnational gang to death on 29 January 2021 for trafficking 100 kg of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam, VNExpress reported.
JANUARY 15, 2021VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SIX SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HCMC FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A court in Ho Chi Minh City on 12 January 2021 sentenced six drug traffickers to death for smuggling 13.8 kilograms of synthetic drugs and ketamine from Cambodia into the city.
NOVEMBER 29, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER DRUG-RELATED CRIMES
Five Vietnamese men on 27 November 2020 were sentenced to death for illicitly selling and transporting drugs.
OCTOBER 29, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HCMC COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MALAYSIAN DRUG MULE
An appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City on 28 October 2020 upheld the death sentence handed down to a Malaysian woman for illegally transporting over four kg of cocaine.
OCTOBER 27, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on 23 October 2020 rejected an appeal and upheld the death penalty against a 29-year-old woman for having illegally transported narcotics from Cambodia into Vietnam for 19 times.
OCTOBER 14, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FILIPINA RECEIVES DEATH FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
A Filipino woman in southern Tay Ninh Province was sentenced to death on 9 October 2020 for smuggling about 5 kg of drugs.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: DRUG MULE GETS DEATH PENALTY
A court in the north-central province of Ha Tinh sentenced a drug mule to death on 18 September 2020.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MALAYSIAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRANSPORTING DRUGS
A Vietnamese court on 24 August 2020 sentenced a Malaysian woman to death for transporting 3.3 kg of cocaine from Brazil to Vietnam.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER BLOODY LAND CLASH
A Vietnamese court sentenced two brothers to death and handed prison terms or probation to 27 others on 14 September 2020, for their roles in the high-profile killings of three policemen in a clash over land rights, the security ministry and a lawyer said
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: DRUG DELIVERIES DELIVER DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN
A 42-year-old Vietnamese man was sentenced to death on 17 August 2020 for delivering many packages of drugs for a Cambodian woman known only as Roem.
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: FOUR DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in the central province of Nghe An on 10 August 2020 sentenced four men to death for trafficking 28.7 kilograms of methamphetamine from Laos.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SINGAPOREAN DRUG TRAFFICKER GETS DEATH SENTENCE
The People’s Court of the southwestern border province of Tay Ninh on 7 August 2020 handed a death penalty to a 40-year-old Singaporean man for drug trafficking.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SEVEN MEN GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR TRAFFICKING DRUGS
Seven men residing in the northwestern border province of Dien Bien were sentenced to death on 21 August 2020 for drug trafficking.
AUGUST 1, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: CAMBODIAN CROSS-BORDER DRUG TRAFFICKER GETS DEATH SENTENCE
The People's Court of the southern province of Tay Ninh handed a death penalty to a Cambodian drug trafficker during a trial on 31 July 2020.
JULY 27, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FIVE DEATH SENTENCES HANDED DOWN IN DRUG CASE
The People’s Court of HCM City on 27 July 2020 handed down five death sentences and four terms of life imprisonment to defendants involved in a major drug ring led by Van Kinh Duong.
JULY 23, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO DRUG SMUGGLERS SENTENCED TO DEATH IN HCMC
The HCMC People’s Court on 22 July 2020 sentenced two men to death for trafficking over 44 kg of ecstasy pills from Cambodia in 2018.
JULY 7, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: WOMAN CHARGED WITH DOUBLE HOMICIDE RECEIVES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
A woman who murdered two men and encased their corpses in concrete on 3 July 2020 was sentenced to death in Vietnam.
JULY 4, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TAIWANESE DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Taiwanese man was sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City on 2 July 2020 for trafficking around 317 kg of heroin.
JUNE 18, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCES OVER ĐIỆN BIÊN GANG RAPE AND MURDER
The People’s Court of Điện Biên on 17 June 2020 rejected letters of appeal and decided to uphold the death sentence for six defendants for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 22-year-old woman.
JUNE 16, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS DEATH SENTENCE IN DECADE-OLD HO DUY HAI MURDER CASE
Death row inmate Ho Duy Hai’s sentence for murder was re-affirmed by Vietnam’s top court in a meeting on 15 June 2020 of the National Assembly, state media reported.
JUNE 15, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: FIVE DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on 12 June 2020 handed down death sentences on five Vietnamese citizens charged with illegally trading and trafficking drugs in Vietnam.
MAY 23, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: SEVEN DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
An appeal court in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City has handed down the capital punishment to seven drug traffickers for smuggling nearly 400 heroin cakes from Laos to the country, local media reported on 22 May 2020.
MAY 21, 2020VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO MEN WERE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING IN HANOI
A Hanoi court sentenced two men to death and a woman to life in prison on 20 May 2020 for drug trafficking.