More Nguyen letters set for release

MORE death row letters written by Australian Nguyen Tuong Van ahead of his execution in Singapore last Friday are set to be made public.

Returning to Melbourne today with Nguyen's body, his lawyer Lex Lasry, QC, said the letters would show his 25-year-old client had reformed.

"They'll get the story of a young man who saw the need to change his life under the most extreme circumstance," Mr Lasry told reporters at Melbourne Airport.

"And who displayed great grace and pressure under the most adverse ... you can't imagine a more adverse circumstance.

"I hope that helps other people who watched this case and watched it develop."

Nguyen wrote many letters during his time in Singapore's Changi Prison as he awaited execution for drug smuggling, including letters to his mother Kim, Mr Lasry and authorities.

In a letter to Singapore President SR Nathan and published recently, Nguyen extended his sympathy to victims of illegal drugs.

"I found myself in deep sorrow for the true victims, the families of those whom (sic) suffer as a result of losing a loved one to drugs," he wrote in March this year.

Mr Lasry did not give a timeframe for the release of the Nguyen letters and did not say which ones would be made public.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Sun, 4 December 2005
Source: The Northern Territory News(Australia Web)
Copyright: 2005 The Northern Territory News
Website: http://www.ntnews.news.com.au