Sleepless nights before amnesty day - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television

In joy and excitement at being released from prison under amnesty, many prisoners at the Son La Provincial Police Detention Center expressed their gratitude to the prison officers who cared for, helped, and encouraged them during their years of rehabilitation, to return to the right path, to return to continue pursuing their unfinished dreams. These days they do not sleep… eagerly awaiting the day of return!

The Provincial Police Detention Center propagates and disseminates regulations on amnesty to all prisoners.

In the last days of April 2025, the atmosphere at the Son La Provincial Police Detention Center was bustling. Unlike the previous days, everyone in the cells was happy and excited when some prisoners were pardoned and released early. Each person had a different crime and family situation, but the joy of the day of return was the same for everyone, sparkling in their eyes and bustling in their words...

According to some prisoners serving their sentences here. In recent days, some prisoners whose names are on the list proposed for specialamnesty by the President have always felt like they were “living in the clouds”, because in just a few days they will be able to step through the prison doors and return to start their lives over again. They have made great efforts to enjoy the special humanitarian policy of our State towards criminals. With this amnesty, they can be released early by a third, or even half, of their sentence. For them, a day out will also be another day of change, a chance to continue to fulfill their dreams after months of paying the price for their past mistakes.

Lieutenant Colonel Pham Ba Duy, Warden of the Detention Center of Son La Provincial Police, said that the unit has publicly posted the amnesty decision in the detention and labor areas of prisoners, and at the same time disseminated the regulations on amnesty work to all prisoners so that they can contact themselves. In addition to propagating and disseminating to prisoners a clear understanding of the subjects and conditions for being proposed for amnesty according to Decision No. 226/2025/QD-CTN dated March 3, 2025 of the President, the Detention Center of the Provincial Police has instructed prisoners who are eligible to write amnesty requests before organizing meetings of prisoner groups and teams to review and vote on recommending eligible prisoners for the prison council to appraise and prepare documents for submission to the Amnesty Advisory Council for review and approval.

“Everything is done in accordance with the legal procedures, publicity, democracy, objectivity, fairness and transparency. The Steering Committee on Amnesty of the Provincial Police has assigned members to urgently study the files, closely check the conditions, standards, procedures and processes in amnesty for each case according to the proposed list to avoid any errors. The Provincial People's Procuracy has directly supervised the implementation of amnesty at the Criminal Enforcement Agency of the Provincial Police; the Provincial Police has reported to the interdisciplinary appraisal team of the Amnesty Advisory Council on the appraisal of the amnesty proposal files in 2025” – Lieutenant Colonel Pham Ba Duy emphasized.

In the female prisoner cell, prisoner Vu Thi Hoa (left) was happy to hear that she was pardoned.

After many sleepless nights after hearing that her name was on the list of proposed pardons, prisoner Vu Thi Hoa, residing in Yen Chau district, Son La province, said that in the past, when she was in society, she always thought that she would never break the law, never think about others, but only think and do what is beneficial to herself. But since breaking the law and being reformed, detained and reformed at the Son La Provincial Police Detention Center, through the process of beingeducated and propagandized by prison officers, she has also experienced many things. At the age of over 50, when she broke the law, not only did she feel sad, but it also affected and dragged down her family and relatives. "My biggest dream now is to have good health, then when I return to my hometown, I will open a small grocery store and look after my grandchildren, that would be the happiest thing" - prisoner Vu Thi Hoa confided.

Prisoner Quàng Văn Sáng, residing in Mai Sơn District, Sơn La Province, who was sentenced for “Violating Road Traffic Regulations”, now has his sentence reduced by 1 year and 6 days. He said: “While serving my sentence at the Sơn La Provincial Police Detention Center, I was helped by the Board of Supervisors and the Council of Cadres, creating favorable conditions for my rehabilitation. I gradually regained my spirit and firmly believed in the clemency of our State. My rehabilitation results have always been quite good, and my sentence has been reduced by more than 1 year. When I heard the news, I was very happy. I have been unable to eat or sleep for the past few days.” – Quàng Văn Sáng said.

At the Son La Provincial Police Detention Center these days, prisoners are also eagerly waiting for the day to return to the right path. According to the officers here, most of the prisoners are uneducated and have limited awareness, so the officers have to spend more effort to help and educate them.

Major Dinh Thi Hoai Thu, an officer at the Detention Center of the Son La Provincial Police, shared that during the amnesty on April 30 this year, the Detention Center of the Provincial Police had 18 prisoners granted amnesty, which is also the period with the largest number of people receiving sentence reductions in recent years. The person with the longest sentence reduction was 31 months and 20 days, while the person with the least sentence reduction was more than 2 months in prison...

Prisoners at Son La Provincial Police Detention Camp work and produce.

All preparations for the announcement of the President's decision have been carefully prepared, and at the same time, prison officers have also increased their understanding of the thoughts and aspirations of each prisoner. During the past time, prison officers have also regularly encouraged, grasped the thoughts and aspirations, and motivated women to reform well, for themselves and their families. "Many prisoners, when they heard the news of the amnesty, worked harder and better... At the same time, they also encouraged each other to be amnestied on April 30, September 2 and New Year's Day." - Major Dinh Thi Hoai Thi added.

For prisoners who do not meet the criteria for this special amnesty, the prison officers of the Son La Provincial Police Detention Center also propagate and educate them to better understand the lenient and humane policies of the Party and the State, thereby helping them feel secure in their rehabilitation, strive to work, study, and comply with prison regulations to soon return to their families and integrate into society. Prisoner TTT (residing in Group 5, Chieng Le Ward, Son La City) committed the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. She has served 19 months in prison. "When I see other prisoners being pardoned, this is also a motivation for me to make more efforts, to try harder, so that in the next rounds I will also be eligible for special amnesty, to return to my children" - Ms. T. said.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/nhung-dem-khong-ngu-truoc-ngay-dac-xa-5045043.html