Ruddock told Sky News the death penalty was "even worse in this case because issues of mitigation could not be taken into account. It was a mandatory death sentence''.
"We feel most remorseful this is going to happen," he said. "It's a most unfortunate, barbaric act that is occurring.''
Father Peter Norden, parish priest at St Ignatius church in Richmond, where Nguyen briefly went to primary school, welcomed Mr Ruddock's comments but questioned why Prime Minister John Howard had not done the same.
It is interesting to see Ruddock getting exercised. He and Howard have overseen the diminishing of Australia's once proud human rights tradition through the prosecution of their asylum seeker policies. I've often wondered how Ruddock manages the ethical gymnastics involved in trashing human rights and civil liberties through refugee and anti-terrorist strategies on the one hand, whilst professing to be a long-time supporter of the principles of Amnesty International on the other. Perhaps coming out on the Van Nguyen issue at this late stage is an attempt to convince someone that he is, when all is said and done, a decent human being but the hypocrisy leaves me shivering....
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