 In Vietnam pregnant woman cannot face the death penalty |
Two Vietnamese prison guards have been detained after a woman held in solitary confinement was discovered to be 11 weeks pregnant. The woman, a 39-year-old convicted heroin trafficker, was being held on death row when she became pregnant.
Police say the father of the child is a fellow prisoner who delivered food to the prisoners on death row.
Under Vietnamese law, death sentences for pregnant women must be converted to life in prison.
'Abuse of power'
Nguyen Thi Oanh, who lost an appeal against her death sentence, was due to face a firing squad later this year.
She was convicted for possessing more than one billion dong ($63,000) of heroin.
A newspaper run by the country's police ministry said the two prison guards had been thrown out of the police force for "abusing their power" in allowing the fellow inmate to remain in the woman's cell.
Her lawyer, Le Van Kien, said it was the first time a prisoner on death row had become pregnant.
One-Minute World News 
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