HANOI (AFP): Vietnam said Saturday it will release almost 10,000 prisoners, including foreigners, to mark its recent parliamentary elections.
The communist nation often announces amnesties before special events or celebrations.
The country freed more than 22,000 prisoners last year -- a record number for a single year -- as it feted the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and 80 years since its declaration of independence.
At the start of June, 9,950 detainees will be released as part of this year's amnesty, according to a document signed by Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President To Lam.
The amnesty will mark "the success of the (five-yearly) Communist Party Congress and the elections to the National Assembly", Le Van Tuyen, the deputy minister of public security, said at a news conference on Saturday.
In March, the country held elections for the National Assembly, its top legislative body that serves mainly to ratify decisions by the ruling Communist Party.
The detainees to be released next month include 63 foreigners, including 56 men and seven women "of different nationalities", Tuyen said without providing further details.
Prisoners convicted for "attempting to overthrow" the government or "terrorism" are not eligible for release, according to Vietnamese law.
Vietnam has freed some 118,000 prisoners ahead of their expected release dates.
The public security ministry has said in past reports that more than 190,000 prisoners across Vietnam were serving jail terms.
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