Vietnam frees 18,000 prisoners

Giang Son, deputy chairman of the President's Office, told reporters on Friday that 18,539 inmates were granted amnesty under two directives signed by President Truong Tan Sang.

They will be released from prisons starting Monday, ahead of the communist nation's 70th National Day anniversary, which falls on September 2.

"The amnesty reflects a tradition for mercy of our country," he said. There are 34 foreigners among those to be released - 16 from China, six from Malaysia, six from Laos and two from Australia.

None of the inmates chosen for the amnesty have been convicted of national security crimes, according to Le Quy Vuong, vice minister of public security. They included 837 inmates who were sentenced for corruption-related offenses, 2,188 for murders and 1,449 for drug-related crimes.

Vietnam has been heavily criticized by human rights groups and Western governments for keeping scores of political activists locked up. Vuong did not reveal the number of prisoners currently detained, saying the figures were "national secrets that cannot be revealed."

National Day marks the 1945 declaration of independence from France by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

ng/msh (AP, AFP)