Is there a body check of 2-year-old children accompanying their mothers in custody in Vietnam?

Is there a body check of 2-year-old children accompanying their mothers in custody in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Law on temporary detention or custody 2015 stipulates receiving the persons held in temporary detention or custody as follows:

When receiving the persons held in temporary detention or custody, the detention and custody centers must:

1. Check the information to identify the correct persons held in temporary detention or custody by the order and decision of the competent persons;

2. Make record of handover and receipt of persons held in temporary detention or custody and accompanying documents and dossiers; conduct health checkup, body check of persons held in temporary detention or custody and accompanying children under 36 months of age (if any). The body check shall be done by male officers if the persons held in temporary detention or custody are male and vice versa.

3. Take photos, prepare personal information form and fingerprint information form and record in the monitoring book.

4. Disseminate, provide instructions and give explaination about the rights and obligations of the persons held in temporary detention and the rules of detention and custody facility; check and handle the accompanying objects before entering the detention cells and custody cells.

Thus, 2-year-old children accompanying their mothers in temporary detention will be organized health checkup, body check according to regulations in Vietnam.

Can 2-year-old children accompanying their mothers in custody be detained in separate cells in Vietnam?

According to Article 18 of the Law on temporary detention or custody 2015, management classification of persons held in temporary detention or custody is as follows:

1. The persons held in temporary detention or custody are arranged in areas and classified as follows:

a) Persons held in temporary detention;

b) Persons held in temporary custody;

c) Persons under 18 years of age;

d) Women;

dd) Foreigners;

e) Persons with infectious diseases of Group A;

g) Persons committing criminal acts with delinquent nature; killing; robbery subject to the type of particularly serious crime; dangerous recidivism;

h) Persons committing acts of national security infringement;

i) Persons with death sentence;

k) Persons waiting for execution of imprisonment;

l) Persons regularly breaching the rules of custody facility;

m) Persons with signs of mental illness or another illness which causes the loss of ability to perceive or ability to control their acts but have not been assessed, waiting for the results of the assessment or being sent to the compulsory medical facility.

2. The persons in the same case which is being investigated, prosecuted or judged must not be held in the same cell.

3. In special cases, due to the practical conditions, the detention center or custody center cannot meet the requirements for separate custody or in order to ensure the requirements for investigation, prosecution, judgement or ensure the safety to the persons held in temporary detention or custody, the Head of detention center, Suprintendent of custody center, Head of detention cell of border post shall coordinate with the body which is handling the case to decide in writing the persons who are detained in common.

4. The following persons held in temporary detention or custody can be detained in separate cells:

a) Gays/lesbiens, transgender people;

b) Persons specified under Points e, i and medical equipment, Clause 1 of this Article;

c) Pregnant women or women having child under 36 months of age sharing the same cell.

According to this Article, your friend who has a 2-year-old baby with her while in custody can be detained in a separate cells in Vietnam.

Are persons held in temporary detention restricted from dissemination of belief and religion in Vietnam? 

Article 19 of the Law on temporary detention or custody 2015 stipulates management regulation towards the persons held in temporary detention or custody as follows:

1. The custody facility must be guarded, protected, managed, inspected and monitor 24/24 hours a day.

2. The persons held in temporary detention or custody must be in the detention cell and custody cell and only go out of the detention cell and custody cell to comply with the extraction order and other activities specified in Clause 5, Article 20 of this Law and the rules of custody facility.

3. The travel, transaction, contact, communication, dissemination of belief and religion of persons held in temporary detention or custody are restricted. In case of required civil transaction, it must be done through the legal representative and with the consent of the body handling the case.

4. The transfer of persons held in temporary detention or custody between the custody facilities shall be decided by the head of body managing the temporary detention or custody after reaching an agreement with the head of body handling the case and notified to the Procuracy at the same level for information. The authority to transfer the persons held in temporary detention or custody is stipulated as follows:

a) The transfer between custody facilities in the same province or centrally-run city or of a military zone or the equivalent shall be decided by the head of custody or detention facility at provincial level or military zone level;

b) The transfer between custody facilities not in the same province or centrally-run city or of a military zone or the equivalent shall be decided by the head of custody or detention facility at provincial level or military zone level of the transferring place after reaching an agreement with the head of custody or detention facility at provincial level or military zone level of the receiving place;

c) The transfer between custody facilities of Public Security at provincial level or military zone level and the custody facilities of the Ministry of Public Security or Ministry of Defense shall be decided by the head of body managing the temporary detention or custody of the Ministry of Public Security or Ministry of Defense.

d) The transfer between custody facilities in people’s Public Security and the custody facilities in the people’s Army shall be decided by the head of body managing the temporary detention or custody of the transferring place after reaching an agreement with the head of body managing the temporary detention or custody of the receiving place;

Persons held in custody or temporary detention have their travel, transaction, contact, communication, dissemination of belief and religion restricted in Vietnam.

Best Regards!