Circular No. 39/2012/TT-BCA stipulates the management and detention of individuals sentenced to death

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the management and detention of persons sentenced to death

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Based on the Criminal Code of 1999; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Criminal Code of 2009;

Pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code 2003;

Based on the Criminal Enforcement Law 2010;

Based on Decree No. 89/1998/NĐ-CP dated November 7, 1998 of the Government promulgating the Rules on Temporary Detention; Decree No. 98/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2002 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Rules on Temporary Detention;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 77/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 15, 2009 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Department of Criminal Investigation and Enforcement and Judicial Assistance;

The Minister of Public Security issues this Circular regulating the management and detention of persons sentenced to death,

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the management and detention of persons sentenced to death from the time they are sentenced to death by the People's Court at first instance until the execution decision is made, at temporary detention centers managed by the People's Public Security.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to public security units and localities; public security officers directly performing tasks related to the management and detention of persons sentenced to death; persons sentenced to death currently detained at temporary detention centers managed by the People's Public Security and other relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. Areas and cells for detaining persons sentenced to death

Temporary detention centers must organize a separate area for detaining persons sentenced to death and must have signs clearly indicating that it is the detention area for persons sentenced to death. Cells for detaining persons sentenced to death must be constructed solidly (according to a unified model of the Ministry of Public Security), ensuring adequate lighting, with leg irons and equipped with technical means to monitor and supervise.

Article 4. Reception, management, and detention of persons sentenced to death in cells

1. After the People's Court at first instance pronounces a death sentence against the defendant, the Warden of the temporary detention center must immediately process the transfer of the person sentenced to death to the cell in the area designated for detaining persons sentenced to death.

2. The area and cells for detaining persons sentenced to death must ensure strict and tight management and detention 24 hours a day (if the person sentenced to death is female, a female guard officer must be assigned to oversee). In cases where the person sentenced to death shows signs of suicide, resistance, escape, or other dangerous behavior, they may be shackled to one leg continuously (24 hours a day); their leg irons must be changed at least once a week; each day, the leg irons must be removed for no more than fifteen minutes to allow the person sentenced to death to perform personal hygiene; before removing the leg irons, approval from the Warden of the temporary detention center is required; when the guard officer removes the leg irons, there must be armed personnel present to closely monitor.

3. All activities of the person sentenced to death must take place within the cell. In cases where the person sentenced to death goes on a hunger strike, the temporary detention center must prepare a record, clarify the reasons for the hunger strike, and notify the Investigative Agency, the People's Procuracy, and the People's Court of the province where the temporary detention center is located to coordinate in handling the situation.

4. In cases where the person sentenced to death escapes, the temporary detention center must prepare a record and immediately notify the Investigative Agency, the People's Procuracy, and the People's Court of the province where the temporary detention center is located to be aware and coordinate in handling the situation; simultaneously, they must take the lead and cooperate with functional forces to immediately organize the pursuit and capture.

5. The Warden of the temporary detention center must apply technical measures to proactively detect and promptly prevent the person sentenced to death from escaping or committing suicide or engaging in other dangerous behaviors.

Every day, the guard officers must inspect the person and the cell; check the leg irons and shackles of the person sentenced to death to promptly detect and confiscate prohibited items brought into the cell of the person sentenced to death. When opening the cell door or removing leg irons, the guard officer must personally open and lock the door. There must be a logbook for monitoring and inspecting the person, the cell, the leg irons, and the door opening and closing; in the logbook, the condition of the cell, leg irons, locks, date, time, reason for performing tasks, and the person performing them must be recorded; the health status, psychological manifestations, ideological changes of the person sentenced to death, and other related matters must also be recorded; during each inspection, all participants must sign the logbook. If any unusual signs are observed through monitoring and inspection, they must immediately report to the Warden to take timely measures.

In cases where the person sentenced to death dies, the Warden of the temporary detention center must organize the protection of the scene and immediately notify the Investigative Agency, the People's Procuracy, and the People's Court of the province where the temporary detention center is located to implement legal measures to determine the cause of death; at the same time, inform the relatives of the deceased. In cases where the deceased is a foreign national, the Warden of the temporary detention center must immediately report to the Head of the Execution of Criminal Sentences Department of the Ministry of Public Security to notify the diplomatic or consular agency of the country to which the deceased belongs.

After obtaining the agreement of the Investigative Agency and the People's Procuracy of the province where the temporary detention center is located, the temporary detention center will organize the burial according to general regulations. In cases where the relatives of the deceased request to receive the body for burial and bear the costs themselves (must provide a commitment to ensure security, order, environmental sanitation, and confirmation by the People's Committee of the commune), the Head of the Criminal Sentencing Enforcement Department of the Provincial Public Security or the Head of the unit directly managing the temporary detention center (under the Ministry) may consider allowing them to receive the body for burial. The handover and receipt of the body must be documented in a record.

Article 5. Education work for persons sentenced to death in temporary detention centers

The warden of the temporary detention center must have plans and measures for education and encouragement of ideological thought for persons sentenced to death so that they strictly comply with the Internal Regulations of the temporary detention center, recognize their crimes, actively report criminal offenses to be eligible for lenient policies and humanitarian treatment from the Party and State.

Article 6. Management and supervision of persons sentenced to death during medical examination and treatment

In cases where persons sentenced to death fall ill, health staff at the temporary detention center must examine and treat them; if the illness exceeds the capacity of the detention center's healthcare services and immediate emergency care is required, the warden of the temporary detention center must report to the head of the unit directly managing the detention center and the General Bureau of Criminal Enforcement and Judicial Assistance for instructions, while simultaneously processing procedures to transfer them to state medical facilities for examination and treatment. Subsequently, the warden must inform the People's Procuracy at the same level and the People's Court that issued the death sentence. During the process of transferring to the hospital for examination and treatment, persons sentenced to death must be shackled and placed in a separate room for treatment, under strict management and supervision.

Article 7. Management and supervision of persons sentenced to death meeting relatives

Persons sentenced to death may meet relatives according to regulations (except in cases of violation of the Internal Regulations of the temporary detention center). The warden of the temporary detention center is responsible for organizing meetings between persons sentenced to death and their relatives and must ensure the following requirements:

1. Before allowing a meeting with relatives, detention management officers must do ideological work well, inform persons sentenced to death and their relatives about visitation regulations, and require them to sign a commitment to strictly adhere to the Internal Regulations of the temporary detention center as well as visitation regulations, with violations leading to suspension of visits and legal sanctions.

2. Persons sentenced to death may meet the following relatives: grandparents (maternal and paternal), biological parents, legally adopted parents, parents-in-law, full siblings, spouse, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, biological children, legally adopted children. When relatives come to visit persons sentenced to death, they must present a visitation book issued by the temporary detention center or a request for visitation confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune where they reside, or their workplace, identity card, or other personal identification. Persons sentenced to death may meet no more than five relatives each time. The number of times persons sentenced to death can meet relatives depends on the conditions of the temporary detention center and is decided by the warden, but not more than once a month, with each meeting lasting no longer than one hour.

In cases where relatives of persons sentenced to death are foreigners, they must submit a request (in Vietnamese or their native language) and obtain approval from the head of the unit directly managing the temporary detention center. If the request is in a foreign language, it must be accompanied by a certified translation into Vietnamese by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country of which the person is a citizen, or the representative office of an international organization in Vietnam where the person works.

3. Meetings between persons sentenced to death and their relatives must absolutely ensure safety, preventing the escape, suicide, or other violations of persons sentenced to death. Visitation rooms must be constructed securely, suitable for protection needs, with partitions separating persons sentenced to death from their relatives, and equipped with surveillance tools. During the visit, persons sentenced to death may not directly receive gifts, money, or other items; they may not eat, smoke, or use stimulants in the visitation room. Persons sentenced to death must be shackled and closely monitored by detention center staff throughout the visit.

Article 8. Inspection of Parcels and Letters for Persons Sentenced to Death

1. Persons sentenced to death may send unused personal belongings back to their relatives and family; they may receive gifts, money deposits, and daily necessities from their relatives and family not more than twice a month; they may receive and send letters if permitted by the Detention Center Director.

2. The Detention Center Director must organize the receipt and strict inspection of parcels, items, and letters to detect and seize prohibited items according to regulations. If parcels, items, and letters are allowed to be received and sent according to regulations, they must be fully returned to the recipient and recorded in the tracking log with specific signatures.

Article 9. Handling Violations of Detention Center Rules by Persons Sentenced to Death

In cases where persons sentenced to death violate detention center rules, a violation report must be prepared, and the Detention Center Director must issue a disciplinary decision in one of the following forms: warning, leg irons. During the disciplinary period, such persons are not allowed to send or receive letters, parcels, or meet relatives. The violation report and disciplinary decision must be filed according to regulations.

Article 10. Cases of Extraction and Management and Supervision during Extraction of Persons Sentenced to Death

1. The extraction of persons sentenced to death from their cells shall be carried out in the following cases:

a) Meeting with lawyers or other defense counsel. Lawyers or other defense counsel must have a defense certificate issued by authorized judicial agencies according to the Criminal Procedure Code when meeting.

b) Meeting with relatives as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 7 of this Circular.

c) Meeting with officials from judicial agencies as prescribed by law or meeting with related agencies such as the Office of the President, Consular and Diplomatic Offices, International Organizations as prescribed.

2. When extracting persons sentenced to death from their cells in the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the Detention Center Director must decide and issue an extraction order while arranging wardens and armed police officers to escort and closely guard and supervise to ensure absolute safety; meetings can only take place in visiting rooms or workrooms within the detention center and the person sentenced to death must be leg-ironed throughout the meeting. Visitors must comply with detention center regulations. After the meeting, detention center staff must prepare a record of the meeting content, signed by both the visitor and the person sentenced to death.

3. The extraction of persons sentenced to death from the detention center shall be carried out in the following cases:

a) Transferring persons sentenced to death to another detention facility according to a decision or order of an authorized agency.

b) Persons sentenced to death who suffer from serious illness must be transferred to a state medical facility for examination and treatment upon issuance of an extraction order by the Detention Center Director.

c) Conducting investigative, prosecution, and trial activities upon issuance of a written extraction order by an authorized agency.

d) Escorting persons sentenced to death for execution of the death penalty upon issuance of a decision by the Capital Punishment Enforcement Board.

3. In all cases, when escorting persons sentenced to death according to an extraction order, they must be handcuffed and leg-ironed (the type of leg irons used for escorting) and recorded in the tracking log according to the prescribed format. Units and soldiers performing escort duties must coordinate with relevant units to provide protection, guarding, escorting, and close supervision to ensure absolute safety.

Article 11. Ensuring the rights of persons sentenced to death as prescribed by law

1. Detention centers must ensure the right to lodge complaints and accusations, the right to appeal, and the right to request clemency for reduction of the death sentence for persons sentenced to death in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. In cases where persons sentenced to death have a decision reducing their death sentence to life imprisonment, the Warden of the detention center must immediately transfer such individuals out of the area designated for persons sentenced to death to the area designated for persons with prison sentences who have received execution decisions, awaiting transfer to a prison to serve their sentences.

If persons sentenced to death have a judgment from the Court of Appeal reducing their sentence to life imprisonment or nullifying the case for re-investigation, the Warden of the detention center must immediately transfer them out of the area designated for persons sentenced to death to be detained in another temporary detention area.

3. When persons sentenced to death meet the conditions for clemency and conversion of the death penalty to life imprisonment as stipulated in Article 35 of the Criminal Code of 1999, the Warden of the detention center must immediately notify in writing the President of the Court that initially tried the case to handle it within their authority.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 12. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from August 20, 2012.

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Directors of General Departments under the Ministry, Heads of Units under the Ministry, Provincial Police Chiefs, Chief Wardens of detention centers are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. The General Department of Enforcement of Criminal Sentences and Judicial Assistance, the General Department of Preventing and Combating Crime, the Second General Department of Security, and Provincial Police Chiefs are responsible for organizing the implementation and guiding and supervising the implementation of this Circular.

During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, local police units shall report to the Ministry (through the General Department of Enforcement of Criminal Sentences and Judicial Assistance) for timely guidance.