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VIETNAM <br />equivalent system of conditional release. Time spent in pretrial detention counts <br />toward time served upon conviction and sentencing. <br />Courts may sentence persons to administrative detention of up to five years after <br />completion of a sentence. In addition police or mass organizations can propose <br />that one of five "administrative measures" be imposed by people's committee <br />chairpersons at district and provincial levels without a trial. The measures include <br />terms ranging from six to 24 months in either juvenile reformatories or adult <br />detention centers and generally were applied to repeat offenders with a record of <br />minor offenses, such as committing petty theft or "humiliating other persons." <br />Terms of 24 months were standard for drug users and prostitutes. Individuals <br />sentenced to detention facilities were forced to meet work quotas to pay for <br />services and detention costs. Chairpersons may also impose terms of <br />"administrative probation," which generally took the form of restriction on <br />movement and travel. Authorities continued to punish some individuals using <br />vaguely worded national security provisions of the law. <br />Amnesty: In honor of National Day, the government amnestied approximately <br />10,535 prisoners on August 29, the overwhelming majority of whom had ordinary <br />criminal convictions. Among those released were the following five individuals <br />convicted of committing national security crimes: three ethnic Montagnards from <br />Dak Lak Province (Y Dhiam Eban, Y Bien Nie, and Y Kim Kbuor) charged with <br />"undermining national unity," as well as Nguyen Van Tinh from Haiphong and <br />Tran Duc Thach from Nghe An Province, both charged with antistate <br />propagandizing. <br />e. Denial of Fair Public Trial <br />�3 <br />The law provides for the independence of judges and lay assessors, but in practice <br />they were not independent. The CPV controlled the courts at all levels through its <br />effective control over judicial appointments and other mechanisms, and in many <br />cases it determined verdicts. As in past years, political influence, endemic <br />corruption, and inefficiency strongly distorted the judicial system. Most, if not all, <br />judges were members of the CPV and chosen at least in part for their political <br />views. The party's influence was particularly notable in high - profile cases and <br />other instances in which authorities charged a person with challenging or harming <br />the party or state. <br />There continued to be a shortage of trained lawyers and judges. The Vietnam Bar <br />Federation falls under the supervision of the VFF and is closely coordinated with <br />