Khmer Times/Taing Vida Monday, 29 August 2016
The defense team for senior opposition figure Kem Sokha railed against a Phnom Penh Municipal Court decision to send his case to trial yesterday, saying their appeals and complaints have been ignored.
Mr. Sokha, the acting leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), has been under de facto house arrest for three months for failing to appear for questioning twice in cases revolving around his alleged affair with hairdresser Khom Chandaraty, violating article 538 of the Penal Code.
Last Tuesday, investigating judge Than Leng ended the investigation portion of the criminal case against Mr. Sokha and told the court the trial will start on September 9.
The next day, a group of five lawyers representing Mr. Sokha said taking the case to trial will “affect the legitimate interests of their client” because they had filed complaints against decisions made by the judge which were being ignored.
One of the five lawyers, Chan Chen, said yesterday that the municipal court cannot proceed with a trial if portions of the case are being appealed. The defense team, he said, would file motions to postpone the hearing.
“I think the municipal court should not accelerate the proceedings in this case because we have filed motions against the procedure of the investigative process and it has not been dealt with yet,” Mr. Chen said.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana said the trial will continue as scheduled unless the supreme or appeal courts decide on something else.
Yu Bun Leng, chief of the Appeal Court, said that after receiving the complaints from Mr. Sokha’s team of lawyers, he handed the case over to Appeal Court judges for review and said they would take legal action if necessary.
“I handed over this task to the appeal judges without keeping it longer,” he said.
Last week, CNRP parliamentary members issued a statement urging the court to drop the charges against Mr. Sokha, saying nothing he did was an actual offense. They said they would be unable to accept any decision by the court, calling it a serious violation of Cambodia’s institutions and the parliamentary immunity stipulated in the constitution.
Via Skype on Saturday, Mr. Sokha told supporters in France that his persecution was actually increasing the amount of support for the opposition party and the party was on the right track despite the precarious situations facing its top two leaders.
“These days, many intentionally bad things happen to me because the court system is being controlled. However, I believe people do not agree with and will not let this persecution continue until my arrest,” he said.
In addition to the charges against Mr. Sokha, the court issued a warrant for CNRP president Sam Rainsy, who is now in self-imposed exile in France. His trial, scheduled for November 25, is related to a video of a fake border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam posted to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page.
The opposition leader has a number of other court cases pending, most of which are defamation complaints filed by some of the government’s top leaders.
He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted in the November 25 trial and fines as well as short jail stints for the defamation charges filed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and government official Som Soeun. Mr. Rainsy was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in late 2015 after he was convicted of defaming former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
Failing to appear as a witness is not the only charge facing Mr. Sokha. He is looking at a “procurement of prostitution” charge for his alleged travels with Ms. Chandaraty as well as a defamation charge from pro-government activist Thy Sovantha.
Ms. Chandaraty is also suing Mr. Sokha for $300,000.