Human rights organisation Amnesty International says the Federal Government must do all it can for an Australian man sentenced to death for trafficking heroin in Vietnam.
Trinh Huu, 53, was sentenced on Monday for smuggling around two kilograms of the drug into the south of the country.
He was arrested last December close to the border with Cambodia.
Huu has 15 working days to lodge an appeal and if the sentence is upheld, he could be executed by firing squad in about a year.
Amnesty International's Tim Goodwin says he was horrified to hear the news.
"It's always distressing to see one more person sentenced to that penalty," he said.
"The Van Nguyen case over the last couple of weeks has brought home to many Australians the reality of the death penalty around the region and it's gut wrenching to see one more Australian sentenced within the region to that penalty."
An Australian man arrested last December near the Cambodian border in Vietnam, Trinh Huu, has been sentenced to death by a Vietnamese People's Court for smuggling 2kg of heroin.  Amnesty International has urged the Australian Federal Government to do everything it can to help the man. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs has said that Trinh was receiving consular assistance, but that it was too early to negotiate for clemency as his case is still subject to appeal. The government has reiterated its long standing opposition to the death penalty.