Cambodia Prisoner of Conscience: Tuot Saron

Tuot Saron is serving a three-year prison sentence on what are believed to be politically motivated charges.He is an activist in the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the largest opposition party in Cambodia, and the former head of Pongro commune, in Baray district of Kompong Thom province. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Tuot Saron was arrested in Baray district on 18 March 2008 and charged with being an accomplice to unlawful confinement. The authorities also charged three other SRP activists with the same crime; they went into hiding before they could be arrested.

After one year in pre-trial detention, Tuot Saron was brought to trial on 20 March 2009 at Kompong Thom Provincial Court. He was convicted as charged and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, and a fine of USD 2,500. The three others charged were tried in absentia and sentenced to between three and five years’ imprisonment.

The charges arose out of allegations that an SRP member who had come under pressure to change allegiance to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), was abducted and illegally held by the four men. Tuot Saron has always denied the charges, and Amnesty International believes that the accusations against him were baseless and politically motivated, in order to intimidate other opposition party activists.

In the months prior to the July 2008 general election, the CPP was seeking to further consolidate its position and members of opposition political parties were targeted, mostly through intimidation and financial inducements, to join or align themselves with the CPP. In this tense pre-election campaign atmosphere, Tuot Saron said that he and his three colleagues were asked for protection by the SRP member under pressure. They escorted her to Phnom Penh from Kompong Thom for her own safety.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia stated that its own investigation into the case showed that there was no credible evidence to support the allegation of abduction, and that it had shared its findings with the relevant courts and officials. At the trial, the prosecution reportedly failed to present corroborating evidence of the alleged crime, and relied mainly on uncorroborated statements. Despite this and other shortcomings at the trial, all four SRP members were convicted.

Tuot Saron is in his early 40s and married with four children; his family is struggling to make ends meet since his imprisonment. He is in Kompong Thom prison, where he shares a cell with more than 100 other prisoners, many of whom are in ill health as a result of the poor conditions.

Background

The 2008 elections were conducted with fewer incidents of violence than in previous elections, but were marred by the killing of Khim Sambor, a journalist for the SRP-affiliated newspaper, and his son two weeks before polling day. The CPP won 90 of 123 seats, the SRP 26, and three other smaller parties won seven seats.

Sam Rainsy Party supporters, including members of parliament, local officials, journalists and activists have been targeted at various times in the past few years because of their opposition political activities; some have been subjected to threats, others have been imprisoned and several have been unlawfully killed.

Licadho condemns court over SRP verdict

Thursday, 26 March 2009
Written by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

LOCAL rights group Licadho condemned a provincial court's decision to send an opposition activist to jail last week, calling it groundless and politically motivated.

Tuot Saron, who was arrested in March 2008, was sentenced last Friday to three years' imprisonment by the Kampong Thom provincial court for kidnapping and illegal confinement of an SRP member, Tim Norn, who was being wooed to defect to the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

Three other provincial SRP officials, who have all fled and are in hiding, were convicted in absentia of the same charge.

"Last week's show trial was a travesty of justice that once again shows how the ruling party manipulates the courts to maintain its stranglehold on power and eliminate its opponents," said Naly Pilorge, director of Licadho.

"This case will have long-lasting consequences for democracy in Cambodia. The imprisonment of an opposition party commune chief on false criminal charges sends a chilling message to the opposition and to voters throughout the country."

Licadho condemns the conviction of a political opponent in Cambodia after a "travesty of justice"

24-03-2009
Ka-set

Licadho condemns the “travesty of justice” that resulted, on Friday March 20th, in the conviction of Tuot Saron, a former commune chief and member of the main opposition party in Cambodia, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), who was sentenced to three years of prison for “kidnapping and illegal confinement”. A ruling that is “baseless and politically-motivated”, according to the director of the Cambodian human rights organisation in a statement published on Sunday March 22nd.

Confinement or protection?

At the time of his arrest, Tuot Saron was SRP chief in Pongro commune in Baray district, in Kampong Thom province. On Friday March 20th, he was convicted by the provincial court for his involvement, together with three other persons, in the alleged abduction of Tin Norn, a former SRP member who had expressed her wish to defect to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Men Vannak and Hour Sarath, two of the three other accused who have fled and are in hiding, were also sentenced in absentia to three years' imprisonment, while the third, Thorn Rithy, was condemned to five years in prison. Since his arrest a year ago, Tuot Saron has consistently denied the charges against him. He claims that he and his SRP colleagues “merely brought Tim Norn from Kampong Thom to Phnom Penh after she asked them for protection from intimidation from CPP officials.”

No arrest warrant, but a speech from Hun Sen

First, Licadho notes that Tuot Saron was arrested in March 2008, “one day after Prime Minister Hun Sen gave a speech accusing SRP of intimidating former party members who had defected to the CPP.” He also “demanded that action be taken” against those responsible for the alleged confinement of Tim Norn and such “human rights abuses”. But no court warrant was produced at the time of the arrest of the local SRP official, who was therefore arrested “unlawfully”, Licaho criticises.

No evidence or witness

The human rights organisation then stresses that Tuot Saron and the three other SRP members were convicted “solely on [the basis of] the testimony of Tim Norn, and no other prosecution witnesses testified during Friday's trial [on March 20th].” Yet, the accusations made by Tim Norn herself are questioned by Licadho, who decries the “severe lack of credible evidence”: “Two days after her alleged abduction in February 2008, Tim Norn was interviewed at length by staff of Licadho and the [United Nations] Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh”, the organisation says. “At no time did she say that she had been abducted or otherwise mistreated by SRP officials in any way.”

Courts “manipulated” by the ruling party?

“There are compelling reasons to believe that the prosecution of Tuot Saron was politically-motivated, orchestrated by the government to intimidate and threaten opposition party officials and members in the run-up to the July 2008 national [legislative] elections,” said Naly Pilorge. According to the director of Licadho, this new “travesty of justice (...) once again shows how the ruling party manipulates the courts to maintain its stranglehold on power and eliminate its opponents.” She fears that the case “will have long-lasting consequences for democracy in Cambodia (…) [and] sends a chilling message to the opposition and to voters throughout the country.”

Mu Sochua reveals disturbing tricks used by the CPP to pull SRP party members to join them

Affair surrounding the arrest of a SRP commune chief

19 March 2008
By San Suwith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A SRP commune chief from Baray district, Kampong Thom province was arrested by the police on Tuesday morning, after Mrs. Tim Norn, a former SRP party member who recently joined the CPP, complained that she was abducted and illegally detained in a house in Phnom Penh for several days.

Regarding this arrest, In Kong Chit, an investigator of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) said that, based on witnesses in the case, this is what he found out: “Tim Norn went to (SRP defector) Sok Pheng’s house, there, Sok Pheng’s wife gave her $200 to help influence other SRP activists to make them defect to the CPP. When Tim Norn received the money, she did not execute Sok Pheng’s wife order, instead she spent all the money, and she became concerned and wanted to re-join the SRP back. She escaped from her own home, and called a number of SRP officials whom she knew to help bring her to Phnom Penh.”

On Monday, Prime minister Hun Sen asked for an investigation in the threat case against Tim Norn who recently joined the CPP, and after she complained that she was detained.

Hun Sen said: “I will wait and see what the various human rights organizations will yell about, and this case must be researched until a conclusion (can be found) by the authority, the human rights NGOs, as well as by the International community which must look into it. When H.E. Sok Pheng left his position as SRP MP, there were SRP members at the commune and commune councilor levels who also left with him, there were many of them. Then they detained her, and when she went back (home), they told her not to talk about it.”

Regarding the arrest of Tuot Saron by the Baray district police on 18 March, the office of the SRP Secretary-general issued a statement indicating that the arrest of the commune chief by the police took place after Hun Sen’s speech on Monday, and it also clarified that there was no detention on Tim Norn as was claimed. In fact, the SRP was helping to protect her because of her fear and concern for her personal safety, as well as that of her husband and children.

In its statement, the SRP asked the Kampong Thom police and tribunal to end the accusation and to release Tuot Saron immediately and without any condition. The SRP also asked for a clear investigation into this case to reveal the culprits who made up the story to blame an innocent person.

Regarding this issue, Ou Virak, CCHR president, considers it as a measure taken by the ruling party to oppress, threaten, and discourage opposition activists.

Ou Virak said: “This is an excuse to threaten the opposition party. In general, we can see that those in power take measure to oppress the political freedom rights of opposition party activists, this is one point. The second point is that I am concerned that this is not just an isolated case, I am concerned that this could spread into the arrest and threat against activists from other opposition parties also.”

Mrs. Mu Sochua, SRP Deputy Secretary-general, rejected that accusation leveled against the SRP claiming that her party threatens their own party members, she also said that the election for the 4th legislative mandate will not be free and fair.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “The SRP categorically rejects the accusation claiming that the SRP threatens its own party members. We can see with our own eyes that the CPP is using tricks to attract SRP party members by rewarding them with money and position. We believe that this seriously affects the freedom right of each individual to participate in politics, and in particular, it destroys democracy. In looking at the upcoming election, it is no longer a free and fair election anymore.”

Mrs. Mu Sochua told RFA also that Sok Pheng, the SRP defector, told her about a black list set up by the CPP to arrest Tuot Saron and 3 other stubborn SRP activists from Kampong Thom province: “Sok Pheng called me personally 3-4 days prior (to the arrest), he told me about the accusation made against those on the CPP blacklist, and that they will be arrested. Sok Pheng made the accusation that they (SRP activists) threaten that woman (Tim Norn). A few day after (Sok Pheng’s) accusation, the arrest indeed took place. I can see that this is planned in advance by the CPP in order to break up the SRP, and two days later, the (SRP Kampong Thom province) party vice-president who was named, was indeed arrested. Therefore, those who have strong standing, those who refuse to sell themselves to the CPP, they are listed in the CPP blacklist. In Kampong Thom, Sok Pheng knows all the SRP activists.”

Furthermore, Mrs. Mu Sochua also revealed about the CPP tricks in using former SRP party members who defected to the CPP to influence and attract other SRP party members.

Mrs. Mu Sochua added: “I have another concern because, today, Ngo Sovann, a former SRP MP who defected to the CPP, came to Kampot province which I am in charge of (for the SRP), and he tried to pull our party members to join the CPP, he promised to give them positions at the Council of Ministers and 1 million riels ($250) also. Ngo Sovann was also armed with a gun (when he visited SRP party activists). This is of particular interest to see the trick (used by the CPP) which does not respect democracy at all. They should end this type of action.”

Eng Chhay Eang: Arrest of SRP officials in Kg Thom was because Sok Pheng could not persuade other SRP members to defect to the CPP with him

SRP defector Sok Pheng, Hun Sen's newly acquired advisor

Sam Rainsy Party Commune Chief Was Arrested for Intimidation and Detention

Chuoy Khmer, Vol. 2, #67, 19.3.2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 552

“The public understands that the arrest of the SRP commune chief in Baray on the morning of 18 March 2008 can be a tactic of the ruling party, to intimidate those who belong to other parties, so that some of those people understand that they have to defect.”

“Important activists of the no-longer-opposition party, the Sam Rainsy Party [SRP], are worried about the arrest of a party member by the authorities over the accusation of intimidation and detention of Ms. Tim Norn [by SRP members] in order to prevent her from defecting to the Cambodian People’s Party [CPP]. The SRP commune chief of Pongro, Baray, Tuot [or Thoun or Suon – according to different sources] Saron, was arrested on the morning of 18 March 2008 by police officers, after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on 17 March that police must deal with the intimidation cases in Kompong Thom and Takeo against SRP activists who had tried to prevent other SRP members from defecting to the CPP.

“A source from Kompong Thom indicates that the SRP activist, who was arrested on 18 March at 9:30, is Mr. Tuot Saron, the SRP council chief of Baray, who is also the Pongro commune chief. The arrest of Mr. Tuot Saron is a case of intimidation rather than the consequence of a defection to another party.

“Police officers in Kompong Thom said that the authorities are searching for more SRP activists who are said to have been involved in the illegal detention. Those activists include the following three: 1) Mr. Thorn Rithy, the SRP deputy commune chief, the chief of the working group of the SRP in Prasat Balang and Sandan, Kompong Thom, 2) Mr. Maen Vannak, and 3) Mr. Hour Sarath, as well as other accomplices who were involved in the illegal detention and the intimidation by phone. After hearing the plans of the police in Kompong Thom, those who were involved in the matter are on the run to hide themselves from the police.

“The police officers added that the activist who was intimidated and illegally detained is Ms. Tim Norn, who is living in Baray, Kompong Thom.

“The arrest of Mr. Tout Saron, the SRP chief of the council of Baray, who is also the commune chief of Pongro, Kompong Thom, came after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered relevant authorities, police officers, and military police officers on 17 March 2008 to search for those who detained and intimidated citizens by telephone in order to prevent them from defecting to the CPP. Mr. Hun Sen said ‘They have not yet got power, but they have already started to prevent people from defecting to another party. They don’t have power yet, but they do such things already; they are so cruel.’

“Mr. Hun Sen added that as prime minister, he has to think of the safety of all citizens, regardless to which party they belong.

“Mr. Eng Chhay Eang, the secretary-general of the unreasonable opposition San Rainsy Party and a former addictive gambler, told journalists that the arrest of Tout Saron, the commune chief of Pongro, Kompong Thom, came after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the SRP of intimidation. But Mr. Eng Chhay Eang said the arrest was because the former SRP Kompong Thom lawmaker Mr. Sok Pheng, who had defected to the CPP, could not persuade other SRP members to defect to the CPP with him. Therefore, he reported to Prime Minister Hun Sen that there was a case of intimidation against members who are trying to defect to the CPP.

“The unreasonable opposition party secretary-general Mr. Eng Chhay Eang said, ‘The ruling party uses its power to create such a problem. Who is the real intimidator? That is the ruling party itself.’ Also, Mr. Eng Chhay Eang asked the government to stop doing cowardly acts. He said the game should be played in an open manner, not like this. In Kompong Thom, six people from the SRP were voted to be commune chiefs, but none of them, including more than one hundred commune counselors, followed Sok Pheng who defected to the CPP. This is a shameful behavior of Mr. Sok Pheng, who made up the story to please the prime minister. The prime minister should not believe this story; and no action should be taken. Mr. Eng Chhay Eang continued to tell reporters that the arrest of the Pongro commune chief, of the SRP in Baray, Kompong Thom, is political and it is an intimidation for members who don’t want to defect. The arrest is only to frighten others.

“Civil society organizations are watching the arrest of the commune chief in Baray, Kompong Thom, and they are closely investigating this matter to find out if the arrest is a political intimidation, or whether Mr. Tuot Saron really intimidated other people by telephone.

“According to the latest report, uniformed police and plaincloth police surrounded the SRP head office in Kompong Thom, in order to arrest those who were accused to have been involved in intimidation and illegal detention.

“According to other informal sources, the arrest of the Pongro commune chief Mr. Tuot Saron is also related to other high-ranking officials who are SRP members. Police are investigating to identify those who are involved in intimidation.

“The public understands that the arrest of the SRP commune chief in Baray on the morning of 18 March 2008 can be a tactic of the ruling party, to intimidate those who belong to other parties, so that some of those people understand that they have to defect.”