Heng Pov (Photo: AP)By Mayarith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Sat Sophal, a faithful close friend of Heng Pov, said that Heng Pov is waiting for help from various countries in his quest for a political asylum. What force Heng Pov to face such situation? RFA’s Mayarith has interviewed by phone Sat Sophal, who is currently staying in a country in Asia.
Mayarith (RFA): You are a man who always remains near the former Phnom Penh police chief, General Heng Pov, since his departure from Cambodia. How are you related to Mr. Heng Pov?
Sat Sophal (SS): I am a friend of his.
RFA: How is the living condition of Heng Pov nowadays?
SS: Nowadays, he is incarcerated by the Malaysian police, however, he is in good health because they pay attention to him.
RFA: How about his court case, where has it reached now?
SS: For the court case, his lawyer is closely following his problem and the Malyasian court is also paying close attention to it. This is a long issue. We discussed with his lawyer who thought hard about Heng Pov’s case, [the lawyer believes] that this is a lengthy issue, unlike what the Cambodian government had accused him.
RFA: Friday’s report indicated that the Heng Pov’s hearing was delayed to 24 Nov again. What is happening there?
SS: The reason is that the lawyer is studying his file in order to understand better the accusations made by the Cambodian government on him.
RFA: According to past report, it appears that Heng Pov’s application for asylum in a third country was not successful. What is the truth behind this?
SS: On this issue, we had already contacted third countries, however, they are still studying the case, they have not denied the case or anything else yet. They are still looking into it, they are paying a lot of attention to it, several countries are.
RFA: Do you know why the application for asylum in a third country drags on so long?
SS: It’s because for special countries which are following our case, they said that this case involve a very important witness. Heng Pov is a person who knows the problems in the Cambodian government such as the recent killing of Chea Vichea which Heng Pov knows a lot about from within the government ranking. For example, Mrs. Va Sothy whom Heng Pov helped, the reason he helped her by telling Mrs. Va Sothy not to talk [about the case] was because the fact that Heng Pov followed Hok Lundy’s personal order to arrest Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun after the killing of Chea Vichea, was a wrongful act. That was why he told Mrs. Va Sothy not to talk because it was an order from Hok Lundy. If she were to tell the truth to the public, she could be in danger. Heng Pov is defending Mrs. Va Sothy [by telling her] not talk about the description of the assassin for the public to know.
RFA: Does this mean that Heng Pov bear a part of the responsibility in the killing of Chea Vichea?
SS: He knows who is behind the killing of Chea Vichea. As for Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang, they are not the assassins.
RFA: Regarding the accusation that the assassination of Chea Vichea involved a high ranking government official, is there any proof to that?
SS: On this issue, we have documents because I personally saw them myself. We have the documents, however, these documents we can show them to the international community and various countries so that they understand about the killings in Cambodia where the killers could never be found. This is very important.
RFA: Now, can it be said that the accused Vuthy also known as Yumareach is the real killer in the shooting of Chea Vichea?
SS: On this issue, I cannot talk about it in depth because I was not the one who handled this file. Only Heng Pov can assure this to the Cambodian people so that they know about this issue.
RFA: Regarding Heng Pov wanting to leave for a third country, why do you think it takes so long [for him] to ask for political asylum? Is it because [other governments] are afraid now that the Cambodian government is intervening to have Heng Pov returned back to Cambodia?
SS: From what we know, they (other countries) are not worried about Cambodia. They are studying [the case] based on helping a person in fear, because Heng Pov is an important witness, they want to know whether the problems in Cambodia are true or not. Heng Pov is an important witness because he knows about the activities of the Cambodian government.
RFA: Is there any hope that there will be a country which will accept Heng Pov right now?
SS: Up to now, we are still hopeful because several countries are paying attention, however, we cannot talk about it, right now.
RFA: Heng Pov’s court case [in Malaysia] has been delayed again and again, is it because they are waiting to see a country coming forward to accept Heng Pov to line in, or is it something else?
SS: The Malaysian court delay is because the court of Malaysia is an independent institution, it is not under the pressure from politicians. It is an independent court which has the right to judge, unlike the Cambodian court which is under pressure from politicians, especially from those who are currently in power.
Mayarith (RFA): You are a man who always remains near the former Phnom Penh police chief, General Heng Pov, since his departure from Cambodia. How are you related to Mr. Heng Pov?
Sat Sophal (SS): I am a friend of his.
RFA: How is the living condition of Heng Pov nowadays?
SS: Nowadays, he is incarcerated by the Malaysian police, however, he is in good health because they pay attention to him.
RFA: How about his court case, where has it reached now?
SS: For the court case, his lawyer is closely following his problem and the Malyasian court is also paying close attention to it. This is a long issue. We discussed with his lawyer who thought hard about Heng Pov’s case, [the lawyer believes] that this is a lengthy issue, unlike what the Cambodian government had accused him.
RFA: Friday’s report indicated that the Heng Pov’s hearing was delayed to 24 Nov again. What is happening there?
SS: The reason is that the lawyer is studying his file in order to understand better the accusations made by the Cambodian government on him.
RFA: According to past report, it appears that Heng Pov’s application for asylum in a third country was not successful. What is the truth behind this?
SS: On this issue, we had already contacted third countries, however, they are still studying the case, they have not denied the case or anything else yet. They are still looking into it, they are paying a lot of attention to it, several countries are.
RFA: Do you know why the application for asylum in a third country drags on so long?
SS: It’s because for special countries which are following our case, they said that this case involve a very important witness. Heng Pov is a person who knows the problems in the Cambodian government such as the recent killing of Chea Vichea which Heng Pov knows a lot about from within the government ranking. For example, Mrs. Va Sothy whom Heng Pov helped, the reason he helped her by telling Mrs. Va Sothy not to talk [about the case] was because the fact that Heng Pov followed Hok Lundy’s personal order to arrest Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun after the killing of Chea Vichea, was a wrongful act. That was why he told Mrs. Va Sothy not to talk because it was an order from Hok Lundy. If she were to tell the truth to the public, she could be in danger. Heng Pov is defending Mrs. Va Sothy [by telling her] not talk about the description of the assassin for the public to know.
RFA: Does this mean that Heng Pov bear a part of the responsibility in the killing of Chea Vichea?
SS: He knows who is behind the killing of Chea Vichea. As for Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang, they are not the assassins.
RFA: Regarding the accusation that the assassination of Chea Vichea involved a high ranking government official, is there any proof to that?
SS: On this issue, we have documents because I personally saw them myself. We have the documents, however, these documents we can show them to the international community and various countries so that they understand about the killings in Cambodia where the killers could never be found. This is very important.
RFA: Now, can it be said that the accused Vuthy also known as Yumareach is the real killer in the shooting of Chea Vichea?
SS: On this issue, I cannot talk about it in depth because I was not the one who handled this file. Only Heng Pov can assure this to the Cambodian people so that they know about this issue.
RFA: Regarding Heng Pov wanting to leave for a third country, why do you think it takes so long [for him] to ask for political asylum? Is it because [other governments] are afraid now that the Cambodian government is intervening to have Heng Pov returned back to Cambodia?
SS: From what we know, they (other countries) are not worried about Cambodia. They are studying [the case] based on helping a person in fear, because Heng Pov is an important witness, they want to know whether the problems in Cambodia are true or not. Heng Pov is an important witness because he knows about the activities of the Cambodian government.
RFA: Is there any hope that there will be a country which will accept Heng Pov right now?
SS: Up to now, we are still hopeful because several countries are paying attention, however, we cannot talk about it, right now.
RFA: Heng Pov’s court case [in Malaysia] has been delayed again and again, is it because they are waiting to see a country coming forward to accept Heng Pov to line in, or is it something else?
SS: The Malaysian court delay is because the court of Malaysia is an independent institution, it is not under the pressure from politicians. It is an independent court which has the right to judge, unlike the Cambodian court which is under pressure from politicians, especially from those who are currently in power.
5 comments:
With Heng Pov's, his close friend's and Ms Var Sothy's testimonies, the Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun case looks more and more like the Dreyfus case in France where in 1894 a military court sentenced Army Captain Dreyfus, an innocent man, to life imprisonment in total isolation on Devil's Island, off the coast of the penal colony of French Guyana. A French Writer, Emile Zola, published a letter entitled "J'accuse" in defence of Dreyfus to find himself accused of defaming the French army and had to flee to England to avoid the arrest. This miscarriage of justice created a huge political scandal in France. For detailed information about the Dreyfus case, please visit www.drefuscase.com. In 2005 the French justice has faced another scandal of the same proportion in the Outreau case. Please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outreau_trial for more information. LAO Mong Hay. Hong Kong.
This is going to be a great case, and hopefully will expose the EVIL EMPIRE -- CPP.
I believe the World will know where Cambodia is once again!
PP
this civil war signaled that country will fall down soon!!!
Hopefully, someone will give Heng Pov asylum, perhaps on the condition that if he is indeed implicated in the crimes he is accused of in Cambodia, his asylum will be revoked. Though he is most likely complicit in some of the violent repression of dissent in Cambodia, he seems to be the only high-ranking official who can tell the truth about the criminal acts of the present government, and that most likely includes Hun Sen.
They are drug and human traficquer!
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