Defamation conviction of opposition leader Sam Rainsy shows negative trend
Washington --The State Department is expressing concern about the conviction in absentia of Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy on charges of criminal defamation.
In a December 22 statement, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the conviction was evidence of "the continuing deterioration of democratic principles such as free speech and expression in Cambodia." He called on the political leadership of the Cambodian government to uphold citizens' rights as guaranteed in the country's constitution and international agreements.
Sam Rainsy, founder of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and formerly a member of parliament from Cambodia's Kampong Cham province, was accused of defaming Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of the National Assembly and leader of the royalist political party FUNCINPEC (National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, and Peaceful Cambodia).
The opposition leader had accused Hun Sen of involvement in a 1997 grenade attack against political opponents and alleged that Prince Ranariddh had taken bribes to join in a coalition with Hun Sen.
Sam Rainsy left Cambodia and has been living in France since the National Assembly stripped him and two other SRP members of parliamentary immunity in February.
Washington --The State Department is expressing concern about the conviction in absentia of Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy on charges of criminal defamation.
In a December 22 statement, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the conviction was evidence of "the continuing deterioration of democratic principles such as free speech and expression in Cambodia." He called on the political leadership of the Cambodian government to uphold citizens' rights as guaranteed in the country's constitution and international agreements.
Sam Rainsy, founder of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and formerly a member of parliament from Cambodia's Kampong Cham province, was accused of defaming Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of the National Assembly and leader of the royalist political party FUNCINPEC (National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, and Peaceful Cambodia).
The opposition leader had accused Hun Sen of involvement in a 1997 grenade attack against political opponents and alleged that Prince Ranariddh had taken bribes to join in a coalition with Hun Sen.
Sam Rainsy left Cambodia and has been living in France since the National Assembly stripped him and two other SRP members of parliamentary immunity in February.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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