07 November 2004 :

The Australian government said it would seek clemency for Tran Van Thanh, an Australian man of Vietnamese origin who was facing the firing squad in Vietnam on drug charges. Thanh, 39, had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City on November 5. Two of his accomplices were also Australians of Vietnamese origin. Tran Van Viet and Pham Martin, received sentences of life imprisonment and two Vietnamese nationals were also jailed.
A foreign affairs department spokeswoman said the three Australians had until November 20 to lodge appeals against their sentences and it could then take up to four months for the Court of Appeal to hear their cases.
"If the death sentence is upheld on appeal there is 30 days to file an application with the State Council for clemency," the spokeswoman said. "The government will register its strong support for clemency if that were to occur." She said the Australian government had a long-standing rule of opposing the death penalty.