Supporters of Kiwi rapist Cleghorn claim that their refusal to pay $16,000 bribe to the Appeals Court may have cost Cleghorn his freedom (?!?)

Kiwi's appeal judges 'wanted bribe'

Tuesday, 28 August 2007
By RUTH HILL
The Dominion Post (New Zealand)

Supporters of a former Wellington man jailed in Cambodia for raping five girls say their refusal to bribe the appeal judges with more than $16,000 may have cost him his chance at freedom.

The allegations of corruption stirred up by the case may have also instigated the downfall of Cambodia's Appeals Court president.

Graham Cleghorn, 60, was sentenced in 2004 to 20 years in prison for raping five of his employees, aged 14 to 19, in Siem Reap, 314 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh.

The former Angkor temple tour guide maintains he was framed by the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre, which he says fabricated the charges to get foreign aid money.

The group and complainants vehemently deny his claims.

Last month the Cambodian Court of Appeal threw out Cleghorn's second appeal. His New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, said Cleghorn's daughter, Heidi Madeley, was shocked to be asked for US$12,000 (NZ$16,530) cash by Cambodian defence counsel Ry Ouk just days before the appeal date.

The request, which came after "informal discussions" with the judge, was ostensibly to cover the cost of a reinvestigation of the case.

"We had no way of knowing whether that was a legitimate request."

Despite being warned to keep the request secret, they contacted New Zealand Embassy staff in Bangkok, who were informed by the Cambodian Court of Appeal that the expense was legitimate.

However, Mr Ouk was furious that "client confidentiality" had been breached and threatened to resign just three days before the hearing.

Cleghorn's supporters managed to raise US$6000 and sent it to him on July 9.

But there was no "reinvestigation" - the next day the conviction was upheld without a single witness being called.

It was possible the other side had come up with a bigger bribe - or that inquiries by New Zealand officials had "stirred things up", Mr King said.

On August 13, Appeals Court president Ly Vuochleng - who was expected to approve the reinvestigation - was arrested over bribery and corruption allegations relating to other cases.

"It's quite possible the appeal failed because the whole corruption thing was exposed after inquiries by New Zealand officials."

Mr King said Cleghorn was adamant he would not buy his way out of prison. "He wants to get out by being proved innocent, not by paying bribes."

The legal team had filed an appeal with the supreme court - but Mr King said they were "fast running out of options".

"You risk throwing good money after bad to get the same result."

Ms Madeley said she was anxious not to say anything that could jeopardise her father's chances.

"It's fantastic that Cambodia is trying to tidy up its judicial system, but where do you start?"

The fight for her father's freedom had so far cost her tens of thousands of dollars in court costs, lawyers' fees, and travel for witnesses and herself. She also paid for her father's daily keep.

"Hope is the only thing he has ... but it's been four years and his witnesses still haven't been heard."

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said it could not intervene in the judicial processes of another country if it was in accordance with their law.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said the minister was aware of the bribery allegations, though had not yet seen details.

"We will be having further discussions with the family about the matter, but it is too early at this point to speculate on what action, if any, might be taken."

Media hype clouds Cleghorn rape appeal

By Lachlan Forsyth and Sam Rith
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 14, July 13 - 26, 2007

The legal wrangling and jostling for headlines in the Graham Cleghorn case look set to continue, after the Cambodian Court of Appeal upheld his conviction for rape.

At a July 10 announcement following his appeal hearing the presiding judges said they found no reason to dismiss the charges or reduce his sentence.

Cleghorn, 60, a New Zealander, was tried and convicted for the rape of five teenage girls employed at his Siem Reap home in February 2004.

"I have to say that we are all totally devastated at the outcome of the appeal and still firmly believe that Graham has not had a fair and proper hearing in to his case," said Cleghorn's New Zealand lawyer, Greg King, in a July 12 email.

King said Cambodia must ensure that minimum standards of criminal procedure were adhered to, as defined under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

"This especially relates to the refusal of all courts to date to hear from the defense witnesses that Graham wanted heard at his original trial in 2004. The fact that his appeal has taken nearly three years and was 'adjourned' eight times, really makes us question what is going on over there," he said.

Oung Chanthol, director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre (CWCC), an NGO that helped bring about the charges, said the organization was delighted that the decision had been upheld, and said it set a "great precedent."

"We are satisfied with the result of the verdict this morning," said CWCC Municipality Coordinator Nop Sarinsreyroth. "Even though nothing can be done to replace the damage done to the victims -at least they have now got justice."

The trial has sparked a great deal of media attention in New Zealand.

Concern about Cleghorn's first appeal hearing, held without his or his lawyer's presence, and without New Zealand or British embassy officials being notified, prompted the New Zealand government to press Cambodian court for a second appeal.

But the absence of witnesses, lawyers and Cleghorn himself meant it took numerous attempts and more than 12 months before the hearing was finally held.

After the July 10 decision was announced the New Zealand embassy consul in Bangkok, Grant Traill, said that New Zealand does not hold any opinions on the outcomes of criminal proceedings against New Zealanders.

"As long as the appeal process was in accordance with Cambodian law and proper judicial process, the verdict must be accepted," he said.

But many New Zealanders remain concerned that Cleghorn did not receive what could be considered a fair trial by New Zealand standards.

Cleghorn maintains the victims, who all worked for him, were paid up to $10,000 each by the CWCC to testify against him.

Further accusations that the original judge was in cahoots with the CWCC and was intending to blackmail Cleghorn for his land, did little to quell rumors that Cleghorn had been set up.

While the legal wrangling continues, the media is proving an increasingly important player in this drama.

The handling of the trial and subsequent appeals ensured that doubts still lingered in New Zealand about the efficiency and efficacy of the Cambodian justice system, and as a result the case received widespread media coverage.

Not all of that coverage was been deemed helpful to Cleghorn's cause.

Dunedin-based Cleghorn supporter Dr Lynley Hood said the serious nature of the allegations carried a powerful emotional impact and profound sense of urgency. Hood is the author of "A City Possessed," a book which questioned the methods used to gain the high-profile conviction Peter Ellis on child sex abuse charges. Hood said there were parallels between the two cases.

"These factors can cloud any dispassionate consideration of the facts. As a result, the accused's right to natural justice is often swept aside in the rush to judgment, and allegations tend to be treated as established facts," Hood said via email.

"Nothing is more damaging and defamatory than wrongly accusing a man of being a pedophile," she added.

Meanwhile, the CWCC has been critical of a so-called "smear campaign" launched by the New Zealand media.

"It is surprising and sorry to see the low quality of professionalism of some NZ media. Most articles presented only one-sided-information, echoing the voice of Cleghorn, his supporters or sympathizers, who strategically slandered or defamed CWCC to get the attention out of his case," she said.

Chanthol said often little effort was made to contact either the victims or CWCC and she has consistently denied Cleghorn's claims the CWCC had bribed victims.

"[Cleghorn] has been shown as innocent and sympathetic by stating that he lost weight, attempted to commit suicide, his teeth were falling out...these articles completely failed to say about the suffering, tears, trauma, and future of the girls and their families," Chanthol told the Post.

"I could not understand those articles which condemned CWCC, which helps thousand girls who were raped, trafficked and beaten up by their abusive husbands, while they were campaigning for the convicted. Would they do that if the case happened in New Zealand?"

King said his client had a lot of support in New Zealand, and a media campaign was being used to maintain public momentum for the case.