Arrested municipal minor crime police deputy Chief Ly Rasy (L), Born Samnang (C) who was charged along with Sok Sam Oeun (R) of killing Chea Vichea. Chea Mony, Chea Vichea's brother, claim that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are innocent, and that Ly Rasy was involved in the killing of his brother. (Photos: Koh Santepheap newspaper)Tuesday, August 1, 2006
By Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
One hundred caged birds will be released outside Phnom Penh's PJ Prison today to mark the first anniversary of the sentencing of Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang to 20 years in prison each for the murder of popular union leader Chea Vichea in 2004—a crime that many believe they did not commit.
Families of the jailed men, union leaders and rights workers will gather at the prison to take part in the heavily symbolic ceremony, said Kek Galabru, president of local rights group Licadho.
"The release of these birds is a symbol of freedom," Kek Galabru said.
"Neither one of them committed this crime. It was an unjust trial; they should be released," she said.
Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang were arrested in January 2004, just days after the slaying of Chea Vichea, who was shot three times at close range while reading a newspaper at a newsstand near Independence Monument.
Scandal-dogged former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who was deputy municipal police chief when he led the investigation into the union leader's killings, arrested the two men and paraded them at a media conference with black hoods over their heads.
Local and international human rights groups focused intense criticism on the police investigation and also alleged that police had intimidated witnesses who had stated that Born Samnang was not in Phnom Penh at the time of the killing.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association and board director of Chea Mony's Free Trade Union, said that Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana should reinvestigate the case and its many alleged irregularities.
"The ministry has no intention of finding the real killers," Rong Chhun said. "We still suspect that the masterminds behind the killer were top government officials," he said.
In a letter dated July 25, Ang Vong Vathana wrote to current FTU President Chea Mony stating that new evidence would be required to reopen the investigation of Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith denied the government had anything to do with Chea Vichea's death and accused the unions of trying to usurp the courts. He also called on Rong Chhun to provide evidence to substantiate his allegations.
"The unions acts like they are ju-didal officers," Khieu Kanharith said, adding that the union leader might have died because of a conflict between trade unionists.
"Chea Vichea was not that important," he added.
Families of the jailed men, union leaders and rights workers will gather at the prison to take part in the heavily symbolic ceremony, said Kek Galabru, president of local rights group Licadho.
"The release of these birds is a symbol of freedom," Kek Galabru said.
"Neither one of them committed this crime. It was an unjust trial; they should be released," she said.
Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang were arrested in January 2004, just days after the slaying of Chea Vichea, who was shot three times at close range while reading a newspaper at a newsstand near Independence Monument.
Scandal-dogged former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who was deputy municipal police chief when he led the investigation into the union leader's killings, arrested the two men and paraded them at a media conference with black hoods over their heads.
Local and international human rights groups focused intense criticism on the police investigation and also alleged that police had intimidated witnesses who had stated that Born Samnang was not in Phnom Penh at the time of the killing.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association and board director of Chea Mony's Free Trade Union, said that Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana should reinvestigate the case and its many alleged irregularities.
"The ministry has no intention of finding the real killers," Rong Chhun said. "We still suspect that the masterminds behind the killer were top government officials," he said.
In a letter dated July 25, Ang Vong Vathana wrote to current FTU President Chea Mony stating that new evidence would be required to reopen the investigation of Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith denied the government had anything to do with Chea Vichea's death and accused the unions of trying to usurp the courts. He also called on Rong Chhun to provide evidence to substantiate his allegations.
"The unions acts like they are ju-didal officers," Khieu Kanharith said, adding that the union leader might have died because of a conflict between trade unionists.
"Chea Vichea was not that important," he added.
1 comment:
Are all Cambodia police chiefs look like Hok Landy?
Do Mai Ah Saker !!!!!!
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