Cambodian prisoners Born Samnang, left, and Sok Sam Oeun, center, are paraded by police in Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. A Cambodian highest court on Wednesday provisionally released the two believed to have been framed for murdering a prominent labor leader and government critic. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)Cambodia: Court Suspected Killers
2008-12-31
AFP
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Cambodia's highest court on Wednesday (31 Dec) provisionally released two imprisoned men many believe were framed in the murder of a prominent labor leader and government critic.
Supreme Court judge Dith Munty ordered the temporary release of Born Samnang, 24 and Sok Sam Oeun, 36, but also ordered further investigation and preparations for the retrial of the two convicted men.
The two are serving 20-year prison terms for the 2004 killing of Chea Vichea, the former head of Cambodia's Free Trade Union of Workers and an outspoken critic of government corruption and human rights abuses.
Dith Munty said the court temporary released the duo since they had already served more than four years of their terms and clarification was needed over some points during the investigation and trial by a lower court.
The release comes after strong protests from leading local and international human rights groups.
"The Cambodian Supreme Court should rely on the evidence and not give in to government pressure when it reviews the case," said Sara Colm, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a statement earlier this week.
"Born Samang and Sok Sam Oeun have already spent five years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, and it is time for justice to be done in this case," the statement added.
Chea Vichea, 36, was the founder and president of the Free Trade Union of Workers. He was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of a newsstand in Phnom Penh on 22 Jan 2004.
Vichea was well known for his outspoken efforts to organize garment workers and to fight for improved working conditions in Cambodia, work he continued in spite of death threats.
Supreme Court judge Dith Munty ordered the temporary release of Born Samnang, 24 and Sok Sam Oeun, 36, but also ordered further investigation and preparations for the retrial of the two convicted men.
The two are serving 20-year prison terms for the 2004 killing of Chea Vichea, the former head of Cambodia's Free Trade Union of Workers and an outspoken critic of government corruption and human rights abuses.
Dith Munty said the court temporary released the duo since they had already served more than four years of their terms and clarification was needed over some points during the investigation and trial by a lower court.
The release comes after strong protests from leading local and international human rights groups.
"The Cambodian Supreme Court should rely on the evidence and not give in to government pressure when it reviews the case," said Sara Colm, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a statement earlier this week.
"Born Samang and Sok Sam Oeun have already spent five years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, and it is time for justice to be done in this case," the statement added.
Chea Vichea, 36, was the founder and president of the Free Trade Union of Workers. He was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of a newsstand in Phnom Penh on 22 Jan 2004.
Vichea was well known for his outspoken efforts to organize garment workers and to fight for improved working conditions in Cambodia, work he continued in spite of death threats.
11 comments:
I wish to pray Buddha,you both and ask Buddha to release all innocent people in the other prisons.
Khmer Supreme Court takes this fake killer very seriously from same Khmer blood, but the real fact of reality of Many-Many foriegners violate Khmer Law, fishing, lands, sex trafficking issues, drugs, Khmer Supreme Court have never ever pressed on all of these matters.
There are Khmer students gratuated every years, hire them for these jobs for better safe of Cambodia.
From Khmer oversea at US advice Khmer-smart in Cambodia for 2009 action.
They could be his sons or HUN SEN's son.
Cambodia can only be a respectable country if there are justices in the court system. Every institutional system should be independent from HUN SEN and his ruling government. Cambodia will never be a first class country as long as HUN SEN got a hand in everything.
sorry to say, but cambodia is such a small country, how can they let the criminals escape without any witnesses seeing them? it's hard to believe! these criminals needs to go where they belong! a good, civil society can't afford to let criminals like these run loose in cambodia.
These two, if they found not guilty..can they sue the govt.?
Bullshit, the convicts confessed to the crime already.
fuck off ah pleur underseas. the real killer was ah hun sen and tay hong hok lundy
6:19 am, you are bullshit, ah-pleur
ah otdeung-kjal. Go play with your self if don't have a better thing to do. Dickhead!
Bullshit about what? They did confessed to polices that they did the crime.
You are really dumb, are you? Confessed without attorneys present? If you don't know shit about legal system,don't bark.
Dumb head!
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