3 Convicted of Inciting Tonle Bassac Riot
By Prak Chan Thul and Pin Sisovann
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday sentenced three former residents of Tonle Bassac commune's Village 14 to two years in prison each for destroying property during a mini riot May 31.
Hundreds of impoverished villagers, angry that they were about to be evicted to a flooded field on the outskirts of the capital, tore down the village office, torched the deputy village chief’s house and hacked to pieces a fence that belonged to a private company.
Chhen Sovann, 45, Chan Ra, 48, and Hem Choun, 37, a journalist for little-known newspaper The Scream for Justice, were convicted in the trial. The prosecution's case hinged on testimony from only one witness, who did not appear at the trial.
Defense lawyers said they would appeal the ruling and described the sentencing as unjust.
"It seemed that [the court] was under pressure from somebody," said Tann Mengsroy, an attorney with the legal aid NGO Cambodian Defenders Project.
He noted that trial judge Nhean Sovann based his decision on statements by an absent witness who alleged that the three men incited villagers to riot.
Tann Mengsroy said the impoverished families of the men will suffer while their breadwinners are in jail.
"Chenn Sovann's wife told me that she had already pawned her land [in Dangkao district]," he said.
Hem Ly, Hem Chuon's 36-year-old sister, condemned the verdict.
"It is not fair and it's mistreatment," she said.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights lawyer So In said the court did not call his four defense witnesses to testify.
Judge Nhean Sovann said people should not complain about the trial.
"If they don't agree, they can appeal," he said, before declining further comment.
At Dangkao's Ang Doung Thmei village, where many of the Village 14 residents were relocated in June, residents said they would thumbprint a second petition requesting the men's release.
Several said they would consider protesting the verdict but did not have money to travel to Phnom Penh.
Hundreds of impoverished villagers, angry that they were about to be evicted to a flooded field on the outskirts of the capital, tore down the village office, torched the deputy village chief’s house and hacked to pieces a fence that belonged to a private company.
Chhen Sovann, 45, Chan Ra, 48, and Hem Choun, 37, a journalist for little-known newspaper The Scream for Justice, were convicted in the trial. The prosecution's case hinged on testimony from only one witness, who did not appear at the trial.
Defense lawyers said they would appeal the ruling and described the sentencing as unjust.
"It seemed that [the court] was under pressure from somebody," said Tann Mengsroy, an attorney with the legal aid NGO Cambodian Defenders Project.
He noted that trial judge Nhean Sovann based his decision on statements by an absent witness who alleged that the three men incited villagers to riot.
Tann Mengsroy said the impoverished families of the men will suffer while their breadwinners are in jail.
"Chenn Sovann's wife told me that she had already pawned her land [in Dangkao district]," he said.
Hem Ly, Hem Chuon's 36-year-old sister, condemned the verdict.
"It is not fair and it's mistreatment," she said.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights lawyer So In said the court did not call his four defense witnesses to testify.
Judge Nhean Sovann said people should not complain about the trial.
"If they don't agree, they can appeal," he said, before declining further comment.
At Dangkao's Ang Doung Thmei village, where many of the Village 14 residents were relocated in June, residents said they would thumbprint a second petition requesting the men's release.
Several said they would consider protesting the verdict but did not have money to travel to Phnom Penh.
3 comments:
This judge like most judges in Cambodia is a joke. What the hell kind of decision is base on an "absent witness"?
JUDGES IN CAMBODIA ARE NOT COMEDIANS! THEY DO THEIR JOB, FOOL!
IT IS HUN SEN'S LAW HERE, NOT YOUR STUPID WESTERN OR UN LAW!
TO HELL WITH THE UN!
Only poor people have to go to the jail, 1 per million of riches go to the jail in cambodia.
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