PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday dismissed a possible political deal on the fate of a Thai ruling party lawmaker and six other Thai political activists who have been charged with illegally crossing into Cambodian territory late last month.
Speaking to a gathering of college students, Hun Sen said only the Cambodian courts have the right to decide the case.
"Intervention from any quarters will not be accepted at this moment," he said, adding that he does not expect the case to affect relations with Thailand.
Thai Democrat Party parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth and six activists of the People's Alliance for Democracy allegedly crossed the border between Thailand's Sa Kaeo Province and Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey Province on Dec. 29 and were detained by Cambodian soldiers.
They were charged by a Cambodian court on Dec. 30 with entering Cambodia illegally and trespassing in a Cambodian military zone.
Panich, a member of a parliamentary committee on boundary affairs and a former vice foreign minister, was quoted by Thai media as saying the seven visited a disputed border area after receiving a complaint from Thai villagers who claimed that Cambodian troops had intruded into their rice fields.
Thai media reports said Panich and his group were walking in a paddy field when they were detained.
On Monday, the prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court filed an additional charge against two Thai activists for attempting to collect information "that may cause harm to Cambodia's defense affairs."
The Cambodian court has not yet decided on the date of the trial.
Since Cambodia's ancient temple of Preah Vihear in a border area claimed by Thailand was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008, Thai and Cambodian troops have faced off in the area and deadly skirmishes have erupted on several occasions.
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