Human Rights Defenders Alert – Phnom Penh, 3 January 2012
Judicial Intimidation of a Lawyer Representing an Opposition Party Activist
Date: 29 December 2011
Name: Mr Choung Chou-Ngy
Category of activist: Lawyer
Location: Takmao, Kandal province
Nature of threat: Judicial intimidation
Outcome: A lawyer has been charged with aiding the escape of his client who is an opposition party activist
On 29 December 2011, Mr Choung Chou-Ngy was charged under Article 565 of the 2009 Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Cambodia (the “Penal Code”) – “Provision of Means for Escape”. This charge has been brought in response to the release of Mr Choung Chou-Ngy’s client, Mr Meas Peng, deputy chief of Banteay Dek commune in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district, from prison on 23 September 2011. The Cambodia Daily reported that the Kandal provincial court found that Mr Choung Chou-Ngy’s actions in helping his client to be released from prison were not in accordance with the laws of his profession, and that they in fact constituted helping his client to escape – a penal offense. The Kandal provincial court has since confirmed that Mr Choung Chou-Ngy has been charged.
Mr Choung Chou-Ngy, who began working as a lawyer in Cambodia on 3 March 2005 and has represented a number of high profile clients, including Mr Sam Rainsy – eponymous leader of the Sam Rainsy Party – represented Mr Meas Peng in May 2011, when he was charged by the Kandal provincial court with masterminding a violent protest against a property owner embroiled in a land dispute. On 22 November 2011, Mr Choung Chou-Ngy was summoned for questioning on 7 December 2011 with regards to the release of his client from prison. Mr Choung Chou-Ngy rejected this summons for questioning, stating that he was only following the law by defending his client and that, if he had made a mistake, only the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (the “BAKC”) had the remit to punish a lawyer’s professional mistakes.
Mr Choung Chou-Ngy asked for intervention from the chief of the BAKC, Mr Chiv Sung Hak, in order to resolve this charge. The chief of the BAKC in turn sent a letter on 6 December 2011, requesting that the Kandal provincial court send the BAKC any relevant documents in relation to Mr Choung Chou-Ngy’s case and allow the BAKC to resolve the issue. However, on 26 December 2011, Radio Free Asia reported that the Kandal provincial court sent a letter in response stating that it was not able to comply with the request because the alleged charges were not a violation of the code of ethics for lawyers but a criminal case. If found guilty, Mr Choung Chou-Ngy will face between one and three years in prison and a fine of up to 6 million riel (about US$1,485). Mr Choung Chou-Ngy told The Cambodia Daily that he will not be fleeing the country despite the charges that he is facing.
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The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. For more information, please visit www.cchrcambodia.org.
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