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Khmer Times/Taing Vida Friday, 29 July 2016
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday found opposition leader Sam Rainsy guilty of defamation and ordered him to pay compensation of about $37,500 to Heng Samrin, the president of the National Assembly.
Mr. Rainsy was sued for defamation by Mr. Samrin over a video Mr. Rainsy posted on Facebook on November 17, 2015.
Under the video clip of a speech by former King Norodom Sihanouk in the early 1980s were the words: “We remember that the regime born on 7 January 1979 used their tribunal to sentence our late King Norodom Sihanouk to death by accusing him of being a traitor.”
Four days later, on November 20, 2015, Ky Tech, Mr. Samrin’s lawyer, filed a defamation complaint to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court as he believed the claim damaged his client’s reputation and that of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. He asked the court for 300,000,000 riel (about $75,000) in compensation.
Despite the absence of Mr. Rainsy and his lawyer, judge Ros Piseth decided to conduct an hour-long debate in the court hearing with Mr. Tech, the plaintiff’s lawyer, and prosecutor Vong Bunvisoth.
In March, the court’s investigating judge issued a summons for Mr. Rainsy. The opposition leader asked if he could appear in court via Skype, but his request was denied.
Mr. Tech said the complaint mainly focused on the statement Mr. Rainsy posted, adding that the video-footage of King Sihanouk was in a different context and did not support the claim made by Mr. Rainsy.
“When Samdach Heng Samrin was in power in that regime, he did not announce a sentence against the former king. Rainsy came up with this video just to manipulate the public for political gain,” he said. “Just four days after the post, more than 4,000 Facebook users commented and cursed both Mr. Samrin and the ruling party.”
Having no evidence from Mr. Rainsy or his lawyer, the judge showed the court the documents related to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook posting and the video footage, but then acknowledged the comment was taken out of context.
Judge Piseth said Mr. Rainsy was charged with public defamation based on article 305 of the Penal Code. The judge also ordered he pay 150,000,000 riel (about $37,500) in compensation and fined him 10,000,000 riel (about $2,500), which would be added to the state budget.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr. Tech said he thought the compensation was not enough and would speak to his client about an appeal.
Mr. Rainsy and his lawyer could not be reached for comment, but he and other opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leaders have slammed the lawsuits as politically motivated attempts to disrupt the opposition ahead of the coming elections in 2017 and 2018.
The opposition leader also has other court cases pending. He faces up to 17 years in prison if found guilty of being an accomplice to Sok Hour, who was jailed in August on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s orders for presenting an allegedly forged diplomatic treaty with Vietnam in a video posted to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page.
Mr. Rainsy is also involved in another complaint by Som Soeun, a high-ranking official, who has accused him of forging documents and insulting him on Facebook.
In addition to the two complaints, Mr. Rainsy, who is now in self-imposed exile, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in late 2015 after he was convicted again of defaming former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in a case many believed had been settled years ago.
Members of both the European Union and the United States Congress have called on the government to throw out the charges against Mr. Rainsy and resume a political dialogue many believed had moved the country beyond these kind of legal and judicial maneuvers.
“The upcoming elections in 2017 and 2018 will not be considered fair and free unless the current climate of fear and intimidation facing the political opposition in Cambodia comes to an end,” said US Congressman Allen Lowenthal, co-chair of the Cambodia Caucus in the US House of Representatives.
The European Parliament went even further, passing a resolution calling for the government to stop its “persecution” of the opposition.
The body said it was calling “on the relevant government authorities to drop the prosecution of human rights defenders under other laws in force which are being used to persecute them for their human rights work, and to immediately and unconditionally release all those jailed on politically motivated and trumped up charges.”
“[The European Parliament] urges the Cambodian authorities to revoke the arrest warrant and drop all charges issued against opposition leader Sam Rainsy and CNRP members and activists, to allow them to work freely without fear of arrest or persecution, and to end political use of the courts to prosecute people on politically-motivated and trumped-up charges.”
Clik here to view.
Khmer Times/Taing Vida Friday, 29 July 2016
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday found opposition leader Sam Rainsy guilty of defamation and ordered him to pay compensation of about $37,500 to Heng Samrin, the president of the National Assembly.
Mr. Rainsy was sued for defamation by Mr. Samrin over a video Mr. Rainsy posted on Facebook on November 17, 2015.
Under the video clip of a speech by former King Norodom Sihanouk in the early 1980s were the words: “We remember that the regime born on 7 January 1979 used their tribunal to sentence our late King Norodom Sihanouk to death by accusing him of being a traitor.”
Four days later, on November 20, 2015, Ky Tech, Mr. Samrin’s lawyer, filed a defamation complaint to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court as he believed the claim damaged his client’s reputation and that of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. He asked the court for 300,000,000 riel (about $75,000) in compensation.
Despite the absence of Mr. Rainsy and his lawyer, judge Ros Piseth decided to conduct an hour-long debate in the court hearing with Mr. Tech, the plaintiff’s lawyer, and prosecutor Vong Bunvisoth.
In March, the court’s investigating judge issued a summons for Mr. Rainsy. The opposition leader asked if he could appear in court via Skype, but his request was denied.
Mr. Tech said the complaint mainly focused on the statement Mr. Rainsy posted, adding that the video-footage of King Sihanouk was in a different context and did not support the claim made by Mr. Rainsy.
“When Samdach Heng Samrin was in power in that regime, he did not announce a sentence against the former king. Rainsy came up with this video just to manipulate the public for political gain,” he said. “Just four days after the post, more than 4,000 Facebook users commented and cursed both Mr. Samrin and the ruling party.”
Having no evidence from Mr. Rainsy or his lawyer, the judge showed the court the documents related to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook posting and the video footage, but then acknowledged the comment was taken out of context.
Judge Piseth said Mr. Rainsy was charged with public defamation based on article 305 of the Penal Code. The judge also ordered he pay 150,000,000 riel (about $37,500) in compensation and fined him 10,000,000 riel (about $2,500), which would be added to the state budget.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr. Tech said he thought the compensation was not enough and would speak to his client about an appeal.
Mr. Rainsy and his lawyer could not be reached for comment, but he and other opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leaders have slammed the lawsuits as politically motivated attempts to disrupt the opposition ahead of the coming elections in 2017 and 2018.
The opposition leader also has other court cases pending. He faces up to 17 years in prison if found guilty of being an accomplice to Sok Hour, who was jailed in August on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s orders for presenting an allegedly forged diplomatic treaty with Vietnam in a video posted to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page.
Mr. Rainsy is also involved in another complaint by Som Soeun, a high-ranking official, who has accused him of forging documents and insulting him on Facebook.
In addition to the two complaints, Mr. Rainsy, who is now in self-imposed exile, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in late 2015 after he was convicted again of defaming former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in a case many believed had been settled years ago.
Members of both the European Union and the United States Congress have called on the government to throw out the charges against Mr. Rainsy and resume a political dialogue many believed had moved the country beyond these kind of legal and judicial maneuvers.
“The upcoming elections in 2017 and 2018 will not be considered fair and free unless the current climate of fear and intimidation facing the political opposition in Cambodia comes to an end,” said US Congressman Allen Lowenthal, co-chair of the Cambodia Caucus in the US House of Representatives.
The European Parliament went even further, passing a resolution calling for the government to stop its “persecution” of the opposition.
The body said it was calling “on the relevant government authorities to drop the prosecution of human rights defenders under other laws in force which are being used to persecute them for their human rights work, and to immediately and unconditionally release all those jailed on politically motivated and trumped up charges.”
“[The European Parliament] urges the Cambodian authorities to revoke the arrest warrant and drop all charges issued against opposition leader Sam Rainsy and CNRP members and activists, to allow them to work freely without fear of arrest or persecution, and to end political use of the courts to prosecute people on politically-motivated and trumped-up charges.”