The Central Advisory Council on Amnesty on November 27 agreed on the list of 4,000 prisoners who will be granted amnesty this year.

The list will be submitted to the president for review.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh speaks at the meeting of the Central Advisory Council on Amnesty on November 27

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said their work had been carried out in accordance with the president's directives. The Ministry of Public Security has verified and proposed the list of 4,000 prisoners.

The Central Advisory Council on Amnesty re-checked each case to ensure the transparency of the process.

Since 2009, Vietnam has carried out six amnesties, two in 2009, for 81,765 prisoners and 919 people with suspended sentences.

Recidivism is reported to be low. In 2013, 114 out of 15,523 prisoners reoffended one year after being released. Last year, 83 out of 18,537 prisoners reoffended six months after being released.

Binh said despite the high number of released prisoners, crime hadn’t risen.

He urged local authorities to help the released prisoners find jobs, reintegrate and curb prejudices against offenders to limit the recidivism. Agencies and organisations were also asked to care for poor prisoners.