Cambodian murderer of Union leader Born Samnang(2ndR) and Sok Sam Oeun(2ndL) are escorted by police upon arriving at the Appeal court in Phnom Penh. An appeals court hearing that could free the men who many say were wrongly convicted of killing Cambodian labour leader Chea Vichea was postponed indefinitely.Friday • October 6, 2006
AFP
An appeals court hearing that could free two men many say were wrongly convicted of killing Cambodian labour leader Chea Vichea was postponed indefinitely.
Judge Saly Theara halted the proceedings after one of the two other judges on the appeals panel failed to show up in court due to an illness.
The announcement stunned a courtroom packed with relatives of the two alleged killers, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, who begged Prime Minister Hun Sen and former king Norodom Sihanouk for help as they were led back to prison.
Both are serving 20-year sentences for gunning down Chea Vichea, head of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, in January 2004.
Chea Vichea was a prominent campaigner for workers' rights, and frequently clashed with authorities over labour abuses.
"Please help us. ... We have been jailed for nearly three years, we don't know anything," Born Samnang screamed, while Sok Sam Oeun called the case against them an "injustice."
Born Samnang's grandmother You Yon said she had expected to see her grandson freed Friday, but had now lost hope for his release.
"I am sad and afraid he won't be let go," she said.
The pair were arrested shortly after the daylight assassination outside a Phnom Penh news stand and convicted last year in what many say was a flawed trial.
The case sparked criticism from the United Nations and international labour organisations. Even Chea Vichea's family proclaimed the pair's innocence, as did former King Norodom Sihanouk.
Casting further doubt on the original trial, a key witness came forward last week to dispute the men's guilt.
Va Sothy, a seller at the news stand where Chea Vichea was killed, released a four-page document stating the two men were not the murderers.
Earlier in the week international rights groups stepped up their efforts to free the men, saying there was no evidence to convict them.
"Unless there is sufficient evidence brought forward by the prosecution to bring new charges against them, there is no case against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun," Amnesty International said in a statement.
Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have pointed out that even the former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov who led the investigation admitted in August the two did not kill Chea Vichea.
Heng Pov has come under a cloud of suspicion of his own recently, having fled Cambodia before being sentenced in September to 18 years in prison for his role in the murder of a judge in 2003.
Heng Pov has been detained in Malaysia for over-staying his visa but is fighting deportation to Cambodia, saying he would be killed if he were sent back after publicly accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen and other top officials of a host of abuses.
Further weakening the prosecution's case, all of the police officers involved in the Chea Vichea case have themselves since been convicted of crimes ranging from kidnapping and torture to murder.
"We were arrested by the group of the criminal Heng Pov," Born Samnang said after Friday's proceedings.
Judge Saly Theara halted the proceedings after one of the two other judges on the appeals panel failed to show up in court due to an illness.
The announcement stunned a courtroom packed with relatives of the two alleged killers, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, who begged Prime Minister Hun Sen and former king Norodom Sihanouk for help as they were led back to prison.
Both are serving 20-year sentences for gunning down Chea Vichea, head of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, in January 2004.
Chea Vichea was a prominent campaigner for workers' rights, and frequently clashed with authorities over labour abuses.
"Please help us. ... We have been jailed for nearly three years, we don't know anything," Born Samnang screamed, while Sok Sam Oeun called the case against them an "injustice."
Born Samnang's grandmother You Yon said she had expected to see her grandson freed Friday, but had now lost hope for his release.
"I am sad and afraid he won't be let go," she said.
The pair were arrested shortly after the daylight assassination outside a Phnom Penh news stand and convicted last year in what many say was a flawed trial.
The case sparked criticism from the United Nations and international labour organisations. Even Chea Vichea's family proclaimed the pair's innocence, as did former King Norodom Sihanouk.
Casting further doubt on the original trial, a key witness came forward last week to dispute the men's guilt.
Va Sothy, a seller at the news stand where Chea Vichea was killed, released a four-page document stating the two men were not the murderers.
Earlier in the week international rights groups stepped up their efforts to free the men, saying there was no evidence to convict them.
"Unless there is sufficient evidence brought forward by the prosecution to bring new charges against them, there is no case against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun," Amnesty International said in a statement.
Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have pointed out that even the former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov who led the investigation admitted in August the two did not kill Chea Vichea.
Heng Pov has come under a cloud of suspicion of his own recently, having fled Cambodia before being sentenced in September to 18 years in prison for his role in the murder of a judge in 2003.
Heng Pov has been detained in Malaysia for over-staying his visa but is fighting deportation to Cambodia, saying he would be killed if he were sent back after publicly accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen and other top officials of a host of abuses.
Further weakening the prosecution's case, all of the police officers involved in the Chea Vichea case have themselves since been convicted of crimes ranging from kidnapping and torture to murder.
"We were arrested by the group of the criminal Heng Pov," Born Samnang said after Friday's proceedings.
1 comment:
Keep the hope and prayer alive, Gold will set you fee in the near future. Those who play God will one day come to a dead end themselves.
Post a Comment