Source: Human Rights Watch
Donors Should Press Government to Stop Harassing Rights Groups
(New York, July 14, 2011) – The Cambodian government should immediately release human rights defender Leang Sokchouen, Human Rights Watch said today. The Cambodian Appeals Court, on July 14, 2011, upheld his two-year prison sentence for peaceful political expression.
Sokchouen, a staff member of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Licadho), was convicted on disinformation charges on August 30, 2010. The Appeals Court, in a decision that violates international fair trial standards, upheld his sentence but changed the charge to incitement. Sokchouen was not charged with incitement at his original trial and the charge was not raised during his Appeals Court hearing on June 30.
“The politicization and incompetence of Cambodia’s courts are on full display in this case, in which an activist has been imprisoned simply for criticizing the government,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Sokchouen should never have been charged in the first place, but to have the charges changed on appeal with no opportunity to challenge them sets a new standard for arbitrariness. The government should immediately drop the charges and release him.”
The Appeals Court judge, Pol Sam Oeun, without explanation, changed the charge to incitement under article 495 of Cambodia’s new Criminal Code, which did not exist at the time of Sokchouen’s alleged offense in January 2010. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Cambodia ratified in 1992, defendants shall have the right to examine the evidence against them and not be held guilty for an act that did not constitute a crime at the time it was committed.
Cambodian police arrested Sokchouen on May 29, 2010, for involvement in the production and distribution of anti-government leaflets in Takeo province in January 2010. He was held incommunicado for over 33 hours, despite numerous requests by his family and lawyer to visit him. At his August 2010 trial, Sokchouen was sentenced to two years in prison and a two million riel fine (US$500). Sokchouen's trial was marked by numerous procedural flaws as well as violations of fair trial provisions in Cambodian and international law. The prosecution did not present any in-court witness statements or credible evidence. The trial judge ignored compelling testimony raised in Sokchouen’s defense.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the conditions for human rights workers and organizations in Cambodia. The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen is preparing a law to regulate nongovernmental organizations that would give it the power to refuse registration and close nongovernmental organizations on vague and arbitrary grounds. Nongovernmental organizations are widely considered to be crucial both to delivering basic services and helping to protect fundamental rights in Cambodia.
“One of the few enduring gains from the massive United Nations peacekeeping mission 20 years ago was a vibrant civil society,” Adams said. “With the imprisonment of a human rights activist on phony charges and the impending passage of a law aimed at giving the government the power to shut down civil society groups arbitrarily, those gains are under threat. Cambodia’s international donors need to press Hun Sen and his government to change course.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Cambodia, please visit:
For more information, please contact:
- In London, Brad Adams (English): +44-7908-728-333 (mobile); or adams@hrw.org
- In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai): +66-85-060-8406 (mobile); or robertp@hrw.org
- In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile); or richards@hrw.org
2 comments:
What type of careers do you people work in? Cause these response you post are so lame and uneducated. Cambodia Exchange will expect to raise capital from foreign or domestic investors with proper respect to legal environment to appropriate the values and trusts. In which case the level of environment in CAMBODIA's Government is not suit to harvest such capitalism.
Thus, CAMBODIA IS JUST ANOTHER COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT OPERATING UNDER THE SKIN OF DEMOCRATIC STATUES. PLEASE TELL HUN SEN HE OWE ME MONEY. WHOLE FAMILY IN FACT. PHAY SHITPAN, TOO. So shut up about being arrogant.
TRUE CAPITALISM COME FROM PROPER GOVERNMENT THAT VALUES AND GAIN TRUST FROM THEIR RESPECTED CITIZEN WITH VIRTUES. CAMBODIA = CORRUPTION, FRAUD, INCONSISTENT VALUATION INCOME WISE. TOO MUCH COPYRIGHT CONCERNS.
CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT HELP THEIR CORRUPTED CAPITAL SYSTEM TO PRODUCE LOSSES FOR AMERICAN COMPANIES BY NOT RESPECTING AMERICAN COMPANIES COPYRIGHTS.
I SEE T-SHIRTS being produce without copyright from AMERICAN COMPANIES.
DVDs production without proper copyrights.
WALT DISNEY logos without their copyright.
SO MUCH DISRESPECT from CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT yet they whine about raising capital.
HOW MUCH FAKE STOCKS will be issues from, HUN MANET's DESK?
BY THE WAY DID YOU KNOW????
PRAHA MAE BAIT SAIT>>>>> :)
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 30,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 30,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 30,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer everyday.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 30,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Smart Khmer girl, President Ms. Rattana Keo,
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