By Pin Sisovann
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Kampot Provincial Court sentenced 12 villagers, five of whom are still at large, to between six and eight years in prison after they were found guilty of clearing forest and claiming state land, human rights workers said. The court announced the verdict Thursday following a Nov 27-28 hearing presided over by judge Pak Lay Yi, which was attended by seven of the suspects who were arrested in June for clearing land in the province's Chhouk district, Cambodian Center for Human Rights provincial coordinator Chhim Savuth said. Provincial Prosecutor Pop Chhun Heng declined to comment. The jailed men's lawyer, Chhe Vibol, said his clients had purchased the land in 1998 and had occupied it since 2001. "The accused denied the charges. It is unfair," he said. The actual clearing of forest from the land was not carried out by the villagers, Chhe Vibol said, adding that the clearing was carried out by an agricultural development company with links to the province's former Funcinpec governor, Puth Chandarith, who is currently in jail on similar charges.
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