Drug traffickers spared as trade talks prosper
14/10/08
Vietnam has agreed to grant clemency to two Australians facing execution for drug trafficking. During his meeting with the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in Canberra yesterday, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, said his country would spare the lives of Jasmine Luong and Tony Manh, who are both from Sydney. “Building upon the excellent friendship between our two countries and on humanitarian grounds, I have been informed that the Vietnamese President has decided to grant clemency to two Vietnamese-Australians charged with drug trafficking,” he said. Luong was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City airport as she tried to board a flight to Australia on February 13 last year. Customs officials said they found heroin in her shoes and luggage. Manh was arrested in March last year with heroin hidden on his body as he was about to board a flight to Sydney.
Tags: Australia, Capital Punishment, Drugs, Vietnam