The 30 March 1997 Grenade Attack

Victims of the 30 March 1997 Grenade Attack:


http://www.box.com/s/5f7d38abd85d332bcfd1

FBI Report on the 30 March 1997 Grenade Attack:


http://www.box.com/s/5817f98737e582abcd75

Discussion with Chhay Vee and Chum Bun Thoeun on the 30 March 1997 grenade attack:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtPeTJCL1mM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eVD51T1Hk4

Transcript of the video above:


http://www.box.com/s/f6f5dcc0e2ac01444f59

Report: No Justice for Victims of Cambodia Grenade Attack, 15 Years Later

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy injured following the grenade attack on 30 March 1997

Thursday, March 29th, 2012
Voice of America

Human Rights Watch says the Cambodian government has made “no effort” to bring justice to those responsible for a deadly grenade attack on an opposition rally 15 years ago.

In a report issued Thursday, the U.S.-based group says there is “substantial evidence of government involvement” in the 1997 attack, which killed 16 people and left more than 150 injured.

The attack apparently targeted opposition leader Sam Rainsy, but instead killed protesters and bystanders, including children and street vendors.

It called for the the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to re-open its probe into the incident, which was cut short when the U.S. ambassador ordered its lead investigator out of the country. The FBI was investigating because a U.S. citizen was injured in the attack.

Ong Yen Tieng confiscated reporters’ voice recorders: A ruthless and high-ranking CPP official

Just like his boss, Hun Xen, who threatened reporters...

Ong Yen Tieng also behaves ruthlessly toward reporters

Press group expresses concern

Monday, 24 January 2011
Thomas Miller
The Phnom Penh Post

The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia said yesterday it was “seriously concerned” about the actions of the government’s anti-corruption head, Om Yentieng, who on Friday ordered his staff to confiscate voice recorders from reporters at the end of a press conference.

Om Yentieng, a close advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, called a press conference to detail the Anti-Corruption Unit’s investigation and arrest of anti-drug czar Moek Dara.

Om Yentieng answered several questions following the event. A Cambodia Daily reporter asked him about a shelved United States Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the deadly 1997 grenade attack that left 16 opposition Sam Rainsy Party activists dead and over 100 wounded.

The Daily has published articles about recently obtained FBI files relating to the investigation.

“Don’t put me into your trap, how much you know about the FBI report”, he said. “You are a Khmer child with Khmer blood, and you recorded my voice without permission”, Om Yentieng said, adding that the reporter could face a court complaint.

Officials then confiscated the reporters’ voice recorders and deleted material from the Q&A.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Ruthless Hyena

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

On Attack Anniversary, a Repeated Plea

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 March 2010

Families of victims in a gruesome 1997 grenade attack renewed calls for the government and the FBI to reopen a stalled investigation Tuesday, as they marked the 13th anniversary of the assault.

Thirteen years ago Tuesday, assailants threw four grenades in the midst of a political rally for the opposition, killing 16 people and leaving 150 more wounded. Each year, the families make a new plea, but no suspects have ever been arrested in the case, which was investigated briefly by the FBI when a US citizen was injured.

Addressing supporters by loudspeaker and a phone link from France Tuesday, opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who led the 1997 rally, said the dead and wounded must not be forgotten.

“Cambodian leaders were involved in the grenade attack,” he said. “It was not so long ago. The killers and the man behind the killers will be punished or condemned for the killing. The criminals cannot escape justice.”

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said in an e-mail the FBI investigation was deemed “inconclusive, and the US Prosecutor’s Office declined to pursue the case.”

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Tuesday the case was not closed.

The attack occurred in front of the former National Assembly, near today’s Ministry of Justice, where a stupa honoring the dead now stands.

At the site Tuesday, more than 100 participants, including victims’ families, Sam Rainsy Party activists and lawmakers, attended a Buddhist ceremony for the dead.

“We call on the Cambodian government and the FBI to reinvestigate the criminal case, to find and arrest the killers and the man behind the killers, for justice,” Sam Vanny, a representative of the victims’ families, said during the ceremony.

“We have been waiting for justice for 13 years,” she said. “We have not taken vengeance, and we have no intention to take vengeance, but it is a duty of law, of democracy and of social justice. So the government should be responsible for bringing the killers to justice.”

Svay Sakhon, who lost his daughter, Chanty Pheakdey, in the attack, said he would continue to wait for the killers to be caught.

“I have waited for the government to help find the killer,” he said. “I’m sorry that I’m not able to speak out. But I still want the government to work hard for justice.”

Human Rights Watch called on the FBI to renew its own investigation of the attack.

“The United States claims that human rights and the rule of law are primary policy goals in Cambodia, yet it withdrew the FBI just when it was close to solving the case and has done nothing for over a decade to resolve it,” Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director, said in a statement. “This attack has cast a shadow over Cambodia that will only be lifted when the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

FBI Urges Local Investigation of ‘97 Attack

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 February 2010

“We cannot allow Cambodian police to conduct the investigation ... Because if they do it properly, they will have to arrest a Cambodian leader who is holding a high position” - Sam Rainsy

With its own case closed, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation is encouraging Cambodian police to pick up the trail of at least three suspects who killed 16 people in a deadly grenade attack in 1997.

The FBI was called in to investigate the attack on an opposition rally in Phnom Penh after one American was injured. However, the FBI closed the case in 2005.

“The results of the FBI investigation were presented to the US Department of Justice, who felt that the evidence gathered did not support criminal charges in the United States,” Special Agent Tom Simon told VOA Khmer in a phone interview in January.

“While we take every assault on Americans overseas seriously, the facts of the case and the loss of Cambodian lives indicate that this investigation is best handled by Cambodian authorities, who hopefully have the resources and ground intelligence to determine what occurred that day and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Simon said.

In its own investigation, described in part in a recently declassified report, the FBI identified three suspects and produced nine sketches, though none was arrested.

In recent interviews with the Cambodia Daily, the case agent, Tom Nicoletti, who is now retired, cited difficulties in conducting the investigation, including threats to his security.

“To close that case knowing what the facts are, I think it is criminal,” said Ron Abney, the American wounded in the attack. “I think it is absolutely something that makes me very angry and very frustrated, and I think it’s awful and I think it’s not an honorable and honest thing to do and I really believe that they all should be ashamed of themselves.”

Despite his disappointment, Ron Abney praised Nicolleti as an “honorable” and “very good” detective.

The Cambodian government insists that the investigation remains open, despite having lost track of a suspect, stalling the case.

“We have not closed our investigation,” Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said. “There are no instructions from the government or the ministry to close the case.”

The leader of the rally and likely target of the attack, Sam Rainsy, said he does not believe Cambodian authorities will ever solve the crime and hopes the FBI will reopen the case.

“We cannot allow Cambodian police to conduct the investigation,” the opposition leader said. “Because if they do it properly, they will have to arrest a Cambodian leader who is holding a high position.”

Portion of the FBI Report on the 1997 Grenade Attack

Click here to download this report

Thank you Mr. Soksan of lg-media.blogspot.com for sharing this document!

Stop Killings and Bring Perpetrators to Court: Family of 1997 Grenade Attack

(Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
26 January 2010

It has been nearly 13 years since Ly Neary’s son died without a final word and the person responsible for tearing her family apart remains unknown, but she remains hopeful that one day the person responsible for the grenade attack on the demonstration her son took part in will be prosecuted.

The grenade attack on a peaceful demonstration led by the opposition leader Sam Rainsy on March 30, 1997 in front of the then National Assembly and near the Royal Palace injured more than 100 and killed 16 people, including Ly Neary’s son, Chet Duong Daravuth, a former reporter for Neak Prayuth (the Fighter) newspaper.

No one had foreseen that a peaceful demonstration to demand an independent judicial system would turn out to be such a devastating and bloody event long after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. This tragedy remains deeply resonant for victims and situation monitors.

“It was just like a sea of blood; there was so much blood on the ground because those injured suffered intense bleeding,” recalled Samrith Duonghak, a former reporter who was at the scene and suffered injuries from shrapnel to both his legs.

“Besides this, [I] also witnessed the scene at the hospital—there were [wounding] reporters like /Moan Khmau (Black Chicken), but now he’s dead; he suffered injuries on his arm and was screaming and there were crowds of people running in and out of the emergency room. It took me at least 30 to 40 minutes to get my wound disinfected. It was such a real [vivid] and terrifying event, [making me] greatly tremble,” he said.

Brad Adams, Asia’s director for Human Rights Watch and who arrived at the scene five minutes after the attack, recalled the scene for VOA:

“What I saw was dead bodies on the ground. I saw a woman blown in half, her legs cut off. I saw a journalist who I knew lying dead and I saw the police and the army standing by and doing nothing, actually refusing to help the victims. It was the most sickening things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

No perpetrators behind the attacks have been brought to light by the authorities despite involvement from the US investigating team from the FBI.

Every year, the victims and their families gather at a golden stupa—built just meters from the actual site of the grenade explosion and scene of scattered bodies—to commemorate the struggle and good deeds of those who had lost their lives.

“It’s close to the 30th, close to the 13th anniversary of my son’s death, which I always think about, and whichever makes my heart beat faster,” said Ly Neary. “I keep imagining: oh, my son, were my son still alive, he would comfort and take care of me now that I am old. [His] Father and mother are old now, but because of [his young] death, I feel so sorrowful. I can never forget this.”

For Sam Sun Doeun, a former parliamentarian from the Sam Rainsy Party, who lost two children under his care in the grenade attack, also never forgets to attend the commemoration ceremony even though he has now left the party.

“I am still terrified. I always attend the ceremony on March 30th, when it is held in front of the National Assembly,” he said. “I always attend to commemorate their souls; they were just doing something for the nation—and there’s nothing wrong with that—but instead they suffered terribly and something that would be easy to find is strangely not found. This is what further reinforces impunity in our Cambodian society. So to establish the rule of law in our country, we need to find [those responsible].”

The FBI has recently released some parts of their investigation report, which only hinted to suspicion that forces loyal to the Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen may have been involved in the attacks. It notes that the evidence gathered is inadequate and do not meet US standard for persecution by the time the investigating agent left Cambodia for security reasons.

Because of the release of the FBI report, Ly Neary has called for the non-repetition of a similar 1997-style attack.

“I would like to appeal to the Royal Government to stop such killings, grenade attacks, and assassinations because we all love our lives. Whether a rich person or a beggar, we all have just one live and all love our live because our live cannot be traded on the market. So please stop all this [problems],” she said.

Cambodian authorities have maintained that the case remains open.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Mok Chito

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Security Concerns Hampered FBI in 1997 Investigation

Police look for survivors of the grenade attack.
Sketches of three suspects identified by FBI.
Then second prime minister Hun Sen.
Sam Rainsy, right, opposition party leader, prays in front of some displaying portrait photos of Cambodian victims of a deadly grenade attack of March 30, 1997, at a memorial stupa in the capital Phnom Penh.

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
14 January 2010

“The US doesn’t need Cambodia, Cambodia needs the US, and I think the US should remember that. China is an increasing power, but not a superpower, and the US can work with other countries to put pressure on Cambodia to improve its human rights situation, to try to improve governance and dealing with things like corruption and the rule of law” - Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch

“The FBI agent was very stupid” Mok Chito, head of the Cambodian criminal police division

A security threat to an FBI agent in 1997 and concerns over US cooperation with Cambodia put a grenade attack investigation on hold, according to recent media reports.

The agent, Tom Nicoletti, was sent to Cambodia to look into the attack, on an opposition rally, which killed sixteen people and wounded more than 100 others, including an American citizen.

Nicoletti, who is now retired, told the English-language Cambodia Daily that by the time he left Cambodia, the evidence he had collected was not up to US standards for prosecution. He had planned to return, he said in e-mails to the newspaper, but an unfavorable situation in the country prevented it.

Nicoletti said he had been pulled out of Cambodia for fear he may be the target of attacks for his investigation, which pointed toward possible collusion in the attack on opposition leader Sam Rainsy by members of then-second prime minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit.

The FBI produced nine sketches of three suspects, including Kong Samrith, also known as Brazil. In a report released to the Cambodian Daily following a Freedom of Information request, the FBI said its investigation had been hampered and that agents had difficulty discerning which witnesses were telling the truth.

One witness told FBI investigators he saw a line of Hun Sen bodyguards allow two grenade-throwers to pass as they fled the carnage of the scene in front of Wat Botum, near what was then the National Assembly building.

The witness “pursued but was prevented from heading towards the wat and nearby CPP headquarters,” according to the report. “As he turned, he was kicked by the soldiers and knocked to the ground.”

However, in another interview, one of Hun Sen’s bodyguards gave a different account, according to recordings posted on www.cambodiagrenade.info. In an interview with another investigator in the case, Peter Hoffman, the bodyguard denied such an incident took place.

“When the grenade throwers were running toward your position, how many people were chasing them?” Hoffman asked the unnamed witness, who answered through a translator.

“I have no intention to count how many people [were] chasing the throwers, and I have no knowledge that those people were the grenade throwers,” the witness replied.

“Do you have good eyesight?” Hoffman asked.

“No, no problem with the eyes. The reason is that there are a lot of demonstrators.”

“So three or four people throw grenades into a crowd,” Hoffman asked, “and you didn’t see anything?”

“I see nothing.”

Ultimately, the FBI investigation became inactive and failed to identify the perpetrators.

“The Cambodian police could finish the investigation any time they want,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “They would have sufficient information in their files. They just choose not to do it. Maybe because they don’t want to do it, and maybe because they are afraid of Hun Sen.”

Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, denied police were unwilling to pick up the case.

“We lost track when we lost Brazil,” he said, referring to one of the suspects. “At the time, it was chaotic, and Brazil died for no reason in a camp of a political party that I prefer not to name.”

He was referring to bloody street fighting between the Cambodian People’s Party, led by Hun Sen, and Funcinpec, led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in a coup that took place months after the grenade attack, July 5 and July 6.

Khieu Sopheak also blamed FBI agent Nicoletti for failing in the case.

“What Tom Nicoletti did was not professional,” Khieu Sopheak said. “He was assigned to conduct the investigation, but could not solve it. Once he concluded a case, he just kept it.”

“The FBI agent was very stupid,” said Mok Chito, who is now head of the criminal police division and was head of Phnom Penh penal police when the attack took place. “He does not know how to investigate. He sometimes listened to other people without knowing [who the subject was]. I remember that in one of its reports, the FBI said I was Hun Sen’s nephew and was chief of municipal police.”

Rights group and families of the victims have insisted that the FBI come back and conclude their investigation to bring those responsible to court.

“I cannot speculate on what the FBI may or may not do in the future regarding this case,” John Johnson, a spokesman for the US Embassy, said in an e-mail. “I can only say that their original investigation was inconclusive and the US Prosecutor’s Office declined to pursue the case.”

He referred further questions to the FBI in Washington, who have not responded to written questions.

The FBI said in its 1997 report a continued investigation could threaten cooperation with Cambodia, but Adams, of Human Rights Watch, said the investigation should be concluded.

“The US doesn’t need Cambodia,” he said. “Cambodia needs the US, and I think the US should remember that. China is an increasing power, but not a superpower, and the US can work with other countries to put pressure on Cambodia to improve its human rights situation, to try to improve governance and dealing with things like corruption and the rule of law.”

FBI Report Links Ruling Party to Grenade Attack

The chief instigator of the 1997 grenade attack?

Slaughter during the 1997 grenade attack

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
31 December 2009

A declassified report by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation indicates involvement by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to a deadly grenade attack on an opposition rally in 1997.
The attack, on a gathering of supporters for opposition leader Sam Rainsy, killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others, including an American citizen, which prompted an FBI investigation that was ultimately abandoned.

But in documents recently released to the English-language Cambodia Daily through a Freedom of Information request, the FBI said it had been pursuing evidence that pointed to the involvement of security forces loyal to then second prime minister Hun Sen.

Released in part to the newspaper, the 2,300-page case file indicates advance knowledge of the attack by Cambodian police at the scene of the March 30 rally and possible collusion with the attackers by Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit.

The rally was organized by the Khmer Nation Party, the precursor to the Sam Rainsy Party, to demand an independent judiciary.

“But at the time, some criminals with an order from the top threw hand grenades into the rally,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer recently. “The FBI also looked thoroughly into the case and had witnesses, evidence and clear records to show that those who are behind the grenade attack are those in power today.”

The FBI investigation came months after the attack, at the request of Funcinpec and the CPP, which were in a power-sharing coalition. The investigation did not go far, and the FBI pulled its investigator from the country due to security concerns and political tension, the Daily reported.

The FBI also encountered difficulties having CPP officials cooperate, the newspaper said.

Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, dismissed the report, calling the abortive investigation “an FBI failure.”

“The FBI should take it as a lesson for its academy,” said Khieu Sopheak, who had acted as a liaison officer with investigators at the time. He also denied any security threats to FBI personal, saying he would have heard about them because police and the FBI spent time together.

Nevertheless, the FBI report highlights several anomalies that led investigators to suspect involvement of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, including an abnormal deployment of troops near the rally.

Unit commander Huy Piseth and his deputy, Hing Bunheang, were interviewed by the FBI, along with other officials.

Hing Bunheang, who is now the head of Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, declined to comment on the FBI report.

“I only pay attention to helping farmers to harvest,” he told VOA Khmer by phone. “People don’t have enough, and they are now harvesting. I have no time to think of any political parties. I only see rice harvesting. Many people lack a labor force. Some are disabled, old and widowed…and they need a workforce. Besides this, I know nothing.”

The FBI made more than 50 interviews in its investigation, sometimes in collaboration with Cambodian police and sometimes separately without their knowledge, the Daily reported.

A US congressional committee said agents met difficulty gaining the cooperation of police officials like Mok Chito, who was then the chief of penal police for Phnom Penh and is now in charge of the criminal department for the national police.

“I assisted in bringing witnesses to the FBI for drawing sketches, because when I got there I saw a few witnesses and I was on the taskforce,” Mok Chito told VOA Khmer.

The FBI produced sketches of nine suspects that were widely circulated that year. In the end, however, no arrests were ever made, and the FBI concluded its investigation was “incomplete.”

U.S. helps Cambodia probe foiled bomb plots in Phnom Penh [-Is the FBI ready to reveal the truth, nothing but the truth?]

PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working with Cambodia's national police to investigate the foiled bomb plots that occurred in Phnom Penh in January, said national media on Monday.

Police asked the FBI for assistance after it identified potential suspects overseas, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted national police spokesman Kieth Chantharith as saying.

"We have requested assistance from the FBI to do some investigation on suspects abroad," he said, while declining to say in which foreign country police believed the suspect reside.

Calling it a "terrorist case," the spokesman said that it is normal for Cambodia to contact foreign police forces when their home country becomes relevant to the investigation.

Three explosive devices of very limited killing power were found on Jan. 2 near the Ministry of National Defense and the state-run No. 3 Television Station, but detonated by experts later in the day, without causing any casualty and damage.

At least 6 people have been arrested so far in connection with the case. All the suspects belonged to an anti-government organization called the Tiger Head Movement.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Cat Head Movement

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

The FBI helps in so many investigations in Cambodia ... but no concrete results can be seen by the public, unless you're part of the corrupt regime

FBI Helping Investigate Bomb Plot

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
26 February 2009

The FBI has joined an investigation into a failed bomb plot on government buildings in January, US and Cambodian officials said Wednesday.

Six suspects in the plot, which was uncovered Jan. 2, when three explosive devices were found near two government buildings.

“The FBI have participated in the case because there are some dual citizens involved in the group, called the ‘Tiger Head Movement,’ who are responsible for planting the grenades,” a top police general told VOA Khmer. One of the group’s leaders, a suspect named Som Ek, confessed while in detention, the official said.

US Embassy spokesman John Johnson confirmed FBI cooperation in the case, saying they had joined at the request of the Cambodian government.

Neither side would give details of the investigation, but a Cambodian general said briefly the FBI had provided satisfactory results.

Cambodian officials say the Tiger Head Movement is a smaller group than the Cambodian Freedom Fighters, which are blamed for a night of gunfire in an alleged coup attempt in November 2000.

US FBI agents assist Cambodian journalist murder investigation

September 22, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has sent two agents to Phnom Penh to assist in the investigation of the murder of opposition journalist Khim Sambo and his son.

The Phnom Penh Post quotes a US embassy spokesman saying the agents were assigned to Cambodia following a request from the Ministry of Interior, and that their role will be purely supportive of the Cambodian investigation.

He says the agents have no definite timeframe for their involvement and could stay until the investigation is complete.

Phnom Penh's Deputy Police Chief Hy Prou who is heading the investigation told the newspaper local police currently have no leads on a suspect and that the complexities of the case have made investigation difficult.

Khim Sambo was killed instantly after being shot twice in the back while riding on a motorbike driven by his son, who was also shot twice from behind and died later that night in a Phnom Penh hospital.

FBI Begins Probe of Journalist's July Murder

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Phnom Penh police officials met with FBI agents on Wednesday to discuss how the US agency might help in an ongoing investigation into the murders of opposition journalist Khim Sambor and his son.

The two parties reviewed what the Cambodian police have discovered so far and how they will cooperate, said Hy Prou, deputy chief of Phnom Penh police.

"The main point of the meeting required research into how we should conduct the investigation and what we should do first," he said. "But this is a first step."

Khim Sambor, who wrote for the opposition Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, was killed on July 11, just two weeks before national elections. At least nine other journalists have been killed in Cambodia since 1994, according to the rights group Licadho.

Two FBI agents arrived in Phnom Penh Sunday and will stay for as long as they are needed, US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said.

"They're here to assist in the investigation, depending on the needs of the Ministry of Interior and the Cambodian police that are investigating it," he said, declining to comment on the specifics of the investigation. "The FBI is here to assist in any way possible, and we certainly hope that through this cooperation that the perpetrator of this crime can be brought to justice."

Chan Soveth, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said Friday he had little confidence the FBI would be able to find the killer without performing an independent investigation.

"We want the FBI to research this case independently," he said. "If the FBI researches independently, we hope they will find the real killer. But if the FBI researches without independence, I have no hope they will find the real killers."

The FBI also investigated the 1997 grenade attack on a group of opposition supporters, he said, but the investigation yielded no results. In that attack, at least 16 people were killed and one American was injured.

"I don't want the FBI to investigate Khim Sambor's killing like they did in 1997," Chan Soveth said.

Dam Sith, the editor of Moneaksekar Khmer, who was jailed for a week ahead of elections, said he welcomed the collaboration between the FBI and the police.

"I wish to see the real facts and justice without falsehood," he said.

Khim Lenin, 30, the youngest brother of Khim Sambor, appealed to the FBI and the police to find "the real killers of my brother."

"I don't believe the previous report of the police, that the killing was involved with Khim Sambor's son," he said. "As I understand, his son was a good person and never committed any wrongdoings. The same for Khim Sambor."

FBI arrives to 'support' police probe

Friday, 19 September 2008
Written by Vincent Macisaac
The Phnom Penh Post

Two agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrived in Phnom Penh this week to assist in the investigation of the murder of opposition journalist Khim Sambo and his son, a US embassy official has confirmed.

US embassy spokesman John Johnson said the agents arrived on Sunday, following a request from the Ministry of Interior, and that their role would be "purely supportive" of the Cambodian investigation.

Johnson said the agents have no definite timeframe for their involvement and could stay until the investigation is complete.

Phnom Penh's Deputy Police Chief Hy Prou, who is heading the investigation, said his police officials met with the agents Wednesday to discuss the case.

He said police currently have no leads on a suspect and that the complexities of the case have made investigation difficult.

But Chan Soveth, a program officer with the Cambodian rights group Adhoc, expressed concern that the FBI was not taking a more aggressive role in the investigation.

"If the FBI cannot work independently, [their assistance] is just a political game," he said.

Chan Soveth arrived at the scene of the July 11 double homicide about 30 minutes after it occurred and has been investigating the killings ever since.

According to Chan Soveth's recently completed preliminary assessment, Khim Sambo's reporting for the Sam Rainsy-affiliated newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer had frequently prompted threats from powerful individuals.

Contradicting claims made by some government officials, Chan Soveth said he found no evidence that either Khim Sambo or his son were involved in a personal dispute that could have triggered the killings.

IF THE FBI CANNOT WORK INDEPENDENTLY [THEIR ASSISTANCE] IS JUST A POLITICAL GAME.

Khim Sambo was killed instantly after being shot twice in the back while riding on a motorbike driven by his son, Chan Soveth said.

His son was also shot twice from behind and died later that night in a Phnom Penh hospital.

"The perpetrators had no fear of being arrested. They weren't wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity," he said.

Chan Soveth said he was able to gather information from those present during the crime after he arrived at the scene.

When he returned the next morning, no one would speak to him.

Chan Soveth declined to say who he believed was responsible for the killings.
"I want to continue living in Cambodia," he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA

FBI Team En Route To Aid Murder Case

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
04 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

A team of FBI investigators will arrive in Cambodia later this month to help police investigate the murder of opposition journalist Khim Sambor.

The team will include at least two sketch artists, said Phnom Penh Police Chief Brig. Gen. Touch Naroth.

Cambodian police and the FBI will meet one or two times a week to exchange information on the investigation, he said. Police met with an FBI official from the US Embassy last week, he said.

Khim Sambor was shot dead in Phnom Penh on July 11, along with his 21-year-old son, Khat Sarin Pheatha, two weeks ahead of national elections, and his killers are still at large.

Touch Naroth said Thursday the motive was not considered political, but police believe the killers were targeting Khim Sambor's son.

Khim Sambor's wife and two daughters were quietly granted asylum and fled to a Western country in late August, Chan Saveth, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said Thursday.

Family members of assassinated journalist left Cambodia

04 September 2008
By Leang Delux
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the original article in French

The departure was motivated by security reason, meanwhile an FBI agent will attempt to obtain a composite sketch of the killers of Khim Sambo and his son.

Accompanied by her two children, the wife of Khim Sambo, the opposition journalist who was killed alongside his son during the election campaign last July, left the country two weeks ago. The news was revealed by Chan Soveth, an investigator for Licadho. This departure was organized following the intervention made by three human rights organizations: Adhoc, Licadho and the UNHCR office in Cambodia.

Chan Soveth indicated also that other witnesses of the crime are now in hiding for security measure. According to Chan Soveth, the main reason which motivated this departure is because “the family has no confidence in the police because, up to now, the killers have not been arrested yet.” The current destination of the family is held in secret.

Touch Naroth, the Phnom Penh police commissioner, said that this situation will not help the case. He recognized that this departure will “create an obstacle to the investigation, but this will not prevent the FBI and the Cambodian police to pursue the search.”

Touch Naroth dismissed the declarations made by human rights organizations reagrding the lack of confidence in the police. “These associations say nonsense, if the family has no confidence in the police, who can they have confidence on?” Touch Naroth asked.

Following its initial focus on Khim Sambo himself, the investigations are now focused on his son. “The FBI and us agree on this point,” Touch Naroth claimed. Why the focus on the son? Because according to a hospital report, one of the doctors who took care of him when he arrived at the emergency room, heard him whispering that he was killed because of a “grudge.”

In the upcoming days, two new FBI agents are expected to arrive in Phnom Penh – an investigator and a composite sketcher who will be in charge of obtaining a sketch of the killers based on descriptions provided by witnesses.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: FBI Part 1

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)