DPA
Phnom Penh (Aug 11, 2009) : Cambodia's Appeal Court today rejected the appeal of a newspaper editor jailed in June on disinformation charges.
Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok, was jailed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for one year on June 26 and fined 9 million riel (2,250 dollars) for articles written earlier this year alleging corruption in the office of a senior government minister.
Hang Chakra's lawyer, Choung Choung Y, said the ruling by Appeal Court Judge Seng Sivutha was unfair because his client had not printed false information.
"I will meet with my client and appeal to the Supreme Court," he told the German Press Agency dpa.
The court's June ruling was condemned by human rights groups and media rights organizations which expressed concern that the conviction was part of a growing crackdown by the government on critical voices.
Sara Colm, country specialist for Human Rights Watch, said the Appeal Court decision was "more than disappointing."
"This is yet another indication that the space for opposition journalists and NGOs and human rights defenders in Cambodia is shrinking," Colm said.
"The fact that this was upheld on appeal will only solidify the control of the ruling party over the press and dissenting voices."
Some donor governments have also spoken out. On Friday, the European Union's representatives based in Phnom Penh met with government officials to voice their misgivings.
In a statement released after the meeting, the EU representatives expressed concern over "a number of instances in which criminal charges of defamation and disinformation have been used against representatives of civil society, the media and the political opposition."
The government has this year brought a number of defamation and disinformation charges against opposition parliamentarians, media workers and members of civil society.
Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok, was jailed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for one year on June 26 and fined 9 million riel (2,250 dollars) for articles written earlier this year alleging corruption in the office of a senior government minister.
Hang Chakra's lawyer, Choung Choung Y, said the ruling by Appeal Court Judge Seng Sivutha was unfair because his client had not printed false information.
"I will meet with my client and appeal to the Supreme Court," he told the German Press Agency dpa.
The court's June ruling was condemned by human rights groups and media rights organizations which expressed concern that the conviction was part of a growing crackdown by the government on critical voices.
Sara Colm, country specialist for Human Rights Watch, said the Appeal Court decision was "more than disappointing."
"This is yet another indication that the space for opposition journalists and NGOs and human rights defenders in Cambodia is shrinking," Colm said.
"The fact that this was upheld on appeal will only solidify the control of the ruling party over the press and dissenting voices."
Some donor governments have also spoken out. On Friday, the European Union's representatives based in Phnom Penh met with government officials to voice their misgivings.
In a statement released after the meeting, the EU representatives expressed concern over "a number of instances in which criminal charges of defamation and disinformation have been used against representatives of civil society, the media and the political opposition."
The government has this year brought a number of defamation and disinformation charges against opposition parliamentarians, media workers and members of civil society.
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
ReplyDeleteTortures
Executions
Massacres
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Overwork to Death
Slavery
Rapes
Human Abuses
Assault and Battery
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leader of the Free Trade Union
Attempted Assassinations on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Attempted Murders on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Executed members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders members and activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Killings
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and others military official on board.
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Remove Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Under Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed all of these crimes above within Hun Sen Khmer Rouge government have ever been brought to justice.
UNDER AGE CHILD SEX
ReplyDeleteCambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed under age child sex.
Svay Sitha is a senior government official from Cambodian People's Party.
Svay Sitha had a sexual relationship with Tat Marina, she was only 16 years old.
Source: Human Rights Watch
ACID ATTACK ON TAT MARINA
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed acid attack.
"On December 5, 1999, Tat Marina, age 16, was severely disfigured in an acid attack in Phnom Penh. The attack was allegedly committed by Khun Sophal, the wife of a senior government official, Svay Sitha, because she was angry her husband had a sexual relationship with Tat Marina. Neither Khun Sophal nor those suspected of being her accomplices in the attack were brought to justice. Intense media publicity compelled the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Khun Sophal for attempted murder, but the police claimed that they could not locate her, although journalists reported that she was living at home as usual."
Source: Human Rights Watch
TORTURE AND MURDER ON PRAK SITHA WHILE IN CUSTODY BY MISNISTRY OF INTERIOR OFFICIAL
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed torture and murder.
"On the night of January 16, 2003, a street youth named Prak Sitha was beaten to death at the Ministry of Interior (MOI) headquarters after he was arrested and detained by off-duty MOI officers on suspicion of theft. His body - bearing numerous injuries to the head, torso, arms, and legs - was dumped at a Phnom Penh pagoda the following morning by ministry officers, in violation of police regulations regarding deaths in custody. No criminal charges were filed in connection with this death. In December 2004, the case was cited by the UN secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia - who stated that Prak Sitha died at the ministry "following beatings by a known police officer" - as an example of a "consistent and continuing pattern of impunity" in Cambodia."
Source: Human Rights Watch
PUT SAMPHORS WAS SHOT DEAD BY MEAN SOKCHEA, A RCAF MAJOR WORKING IN BRIGADE 70.
Hun Sen's personal Bodyguards Unit (Brigade 70) is a terrorist organization.
Hing Bunheang is a March 30, 1997 Grenade Attack suspect identified by the FBI.
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed murder, again.
"On September 4, 2008, Mean Sokchea, a RCAF major working in Brigade 70, shot dead 21-year-old waitress Put Samphors at a restaurant in Kandal province. Mean Sokchea, in a drunken stupor, fired his gun and apparently mistakenly hit Put Samphors in the stomach. She was taken to a hospital but later died of her wounds. Mean Sokchea was detained by the police overnight but was then released, allegedly after intervention by Hing Bun Heang. Put Samphor's family received US$2,700 from Mean Sokchea, and the police told them that their daughter was shot while authorities were chasing robbers."
Source: Human Rights Watch