Dong Tam: The death penalty. What did the lawyer and the two Mr. Cong do?

After the Hanoi Prosecutor’s Office (VKS) proposed the death penalty to two Messrs. Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc on September 9, lawyer Dang Dinh Manh, who was present in court, said that the case file ha with too many shortcomings, even with the lightest sentence, let alone the death penalty, there is a high probability of a false conviction.

He explained this statement to BBC News Vietnamese:

“Not admitting whether the accused are guilty or not, but the lawyers admit that the file has many deficiencies.”

“For example, the question of summoning the participants in the process. The court did not summon the Hanoi Police Department or many other people and organizations. The investigative agency did not organize an experimental crime scene case.”

“With such a record, the conviction of any of the defendants could lead to injustice, from not guilty to guilty, or from a misdemeanor to a felony.”

“Under that condition, any proposed punishment, in any measure, to any defendant, especially defendants Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc, is inappropriate.”

“Therefore, the lawyers agreed to request the court to return the files to the investigative police agency for a new investigation and to supplement the deficiencies.”

Attorney Manh also said that on the morning of September 9, VKS changed charges for many defendants, only kept 6 people in the ‘murder’ group (previously 25 people), the rest switched to crime. ‘against service’.

“As such, the sentence for these defendants will be greatly reduced. I think that those defendants who have been on probation, or those who are nearing the end of their sentence by the time of trial, probably will not. Appeals. And those who are in prison for several years or more will appeal. “

According to lawyer Manh’s report, the attitude of Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc upon hearing the proposed death was “very calm”.

Furthermore, the attorneys were not allowed to see the client on the third day of the trial.

“Earlier, when the lawyers complained about this matter, the court approved the resolution. On the morning of the second trial, the attorneys were able to meet with the client. But upon entering the trial, the professor came to ask the accused. A lot of information will be revealed, maybe that’s why the court changes in the afternoon, they require lawyers to register in advance to meet the client and to stay 2 meters from the client. Today they completely stopped letting us see each other again, “said attorney Manh.

Meanwhile, according to the representative of VKS, the behavior of the accused was particularly serious, despite the law, because of a greed that affects the interests of others. The homicidal behavior of the group led by the accused is brutal, affecting the State’s own activities, causing discontent in public opinion, resulting in three police sacrifices.

On his personal Facebook, attorney Phung Thanh Son wrote:

“Instead of waiting for the day, the investigating agency read a house search warrant to detect and handle the crime of buying, selling, possessing weapons (if it is true that the defendants bought grenades to distribute). It was impossible to say that it was the correct law to raid Mr. Kinh’s house at night as if he were fighting the enemy. The Panel should consider changing the crime from homicide to homicide for exceeding legitimate defense (article 126 of the Penal Code). “

“Derived from the government’s inability to properly and adequately handle the land issue. On the contrary, the government did something illegal to bring troops to raid Mr. Kinh’s home late at night, the defendant’s behavior. may be considered a crime in the case of a strongly agitated state of mind. If the government uses power legally, in accordance with the legal and procedural order, these defendants will not react like this. Therefore, the Panel may also consider moving to murder in a state of strong turmoil (article 125 of the Penal Code) “.

In addition, attorney Son cited article 126 of the Penal Code, in which the maximum penalty for murder for exceeding self-defense is 5 years in prison. Article 125 of the Penal Code: the maximum penalty for murder in a state of extreme agitation is 7 years in prison.

“The way to protect the Party and the good regime is to build people’s confidence in the Party and the regime, not create fear of the people toward the Party and the regime,” Son wrote.

According to lawyer Manh told the BBC, during the forensic examination he concluded that three policemen died of suffocation, and there is CO2 in the trachea. Accusation registered for gas fire.

According to page 14 of the investigation conclusion of June 5, 2020:

“When he saw that the fire was about to go out, he poured it into the basin and poured it into the well many times to make a great fire, pouring it out, saying,” Let your mother die. “Hai, sitting next to Danh, said: “Fragrant.” … (Subject) The businessman ran after pushing the gas tank into the hole … and saw that he used a pot to pour 3-5 times into the hole, every 3-5 minutes. .. When he saw that he was holding a plastic tank containing gasoline. To continue pouring into the hole … 01 member of the Working Group … fired 02 shots at the Organization, causing the gasoline tank to burst open and the head injured, rolling in … “.

But the lawyers said there are many sources that could endanger the lives of these three policemen. For example, firefighters sprayed two C02 tanks in the well where three policemen fell, reducing the oxygen source in the well, causing death, not necessarily due to the gas fire.

“Because there are so many things unclear, the investigation should have been carried out. The case of deaths of up to four people without an experimental investigation is very unreasonable,” said lawyer Dang Dinh Manh.

On the morning of 9/9, the defense lawyers also if the issue of the police has made the decision to attack the Hoanh village, because this is related to the criminal group against the executor of the public service.

The lawyers asked the court if the authorities entered Hoanh village to carry out their duties, what they were and did they have to prove it legally.

“The file says that the police have a plan to ensure order and security in the construction of the Mieu Mon airport area. There are three people from the police side who have declared in the file that they belong. ‘Fishing team’.

“So it seems that there is a policy or some document that says they are going to Hoanh village to arrest people. But when the lawyer asked for those documents to be made public, the court said no, but only the text. The city police said they deployed troops that day to ensure the security of Dong Tam commune. “

“But it was a written response after the Dong Tam incident happened, and where is the document that says they marched to Hoanh village that night? It was not available in the case file. Reissue and request that evidence is collected again, “said attorney Manh.

Before that, just after the deadly incident in Dong Tam occurred on January 14, 2020, Major General Luong Quang Tam, Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Public Security, explained to the national media that the “arrangement of forces in Hoanh village was supposed to protect the project from a distance There was absolutely no work in the field to arrest at that time there was no arrest warrant, although this was known to be a rampant group, these were only working groups with absolute guarantee. safer situations to happen. “

With regard to the death of Mr. Le Dinh Kinh, lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan repeatedly raised this issue and asked for the relevant facts and evidence to be clarified, but each time he was interrupted by the court or invited to sit down, I believe this case is not to solve the death of Mr. Kinh.

Earlier, on the second day of his trial, September 8, Mr. Le Viet Hieu confessed that he was at Mr. Kinh’s home on September 1, 2020 and witnessed the presence of the police in front of Mr. Le Dinh Kinh, at a distance of 1 meter. . At the time, Mr. Kinh had no grenades in his hand, then he was dragged away by the sniffing dog, according to lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan’s report on his personal Facebook.

Meanwhile, the conclusion of the VKS investigation indicated that the police twice arrested Mr. Le Dinh Kinh from behind and that Mr. Kinh died with a grenade in his hand.