Radio Australia News

VIETNAM: Death row reprieve for 7 Vientnamese prisoners

7 prisoners on death row in Vietnam have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment by the president, Tran Duc Luong.

An official from the president's office says 5 of those who benefited from the act of clemency, including 2 women, were drug traffickers, while the other 2 men were condemned to death for murder.

The official did not give any reason for the sentence reductions.

Last month 2 former businessmen sentenced to death in August 1999 for defrauding state coffers of more than $US350 million had their sentences commuted to life in jail.