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Khmer Times/May Titthara
Thursday, 27 October 2016
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday decided to proceed with charges of “forging public documents” and “incitement” against former opposition senator Hong Sok Hour and said a verdict would be announced on November 7.
Judge Ros Piseth said that after a day-long hearing for the former Sam Rainsy Party senator, the court decided to proceed with the charges filed against Mr. Sok Hour last August.
More than 100 supporters of the former senator stood outside the court yesterday holding photos of him and staying silent as they waited for the results of the hearing.
Mr. Sok Hour, who has been held in Prey Sar prison, was charged after posting a video to opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page of a fake border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam purporting to show a 1979 deal signed that would dissolve the border between the countries.
After weeks of being questioned by the opposition party on border demarcation and the maps being used for it, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the arrest of Mr. Sok Hour after being told of the video, claiming it “incited” citizens and made the country less safe.
Mr. Sok Hour was arrested two days after Mr. Hun Sen’s pronouncement.
The imprisoned senator claimed at a hearing on October 7 last year that he found the disputed treaty on a website online and did not forge the document. He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
Senior Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) member Son Chhay expressed regret at the court’s decision not to throw out the charges, which he believes are ludicrous and politically motivated.
“The case of Hong Sok Hour is a national issue,” he said. “It is not a joke.”
Numerous groups both inside and outside Cambodia have called Mr. Sok Hour’s arrest unacceptable and a grave insult to the Kingdom’s constitution, which enshrines the right to freedom of speech.
Mr. Sok Hour’s defense lawyer had originally appealed against the Municipal Court’s procedure over the arrest of the accused, who had immunity as a senator at the time of his arrest.
But the government used an obscure law – allowing them to circumvent the immunity if a person was “caught in the act” – to arrest Mr. Sok Hour.
Despite arresting him weeks after he posted the video to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page, the government claimed it was allowed to detain Mr. Sok Hour because the video was still posted to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page, meaning both were still “in the act” of committing the crime.
Despite the appeal, Judge Soeung Panha Vuth told Mr. Sok Hour’s lawyer, Choung Chou Ngy, to follow the Municipal Court’s order and file all documents related to the 1979 treaty and submit the accused’s electronic devices for investigation.
Mr. Chou Ngy said the judge had violated court procedure and the decision had created an injustice. He added that his client had researched the treaty over a number of years so the evidence was scattered, and added that it would be easier if he could be released on bail to track down and submit the evidence himself.
Mr. Rainsy is facing the same charges for the same video, but he is now in self-imposed exile in France and the government has said it will make every effort to keep him out of the country.
Meanwhile, following up a Municipal Court decision, the Supreme Court decided yesterday to reject an appeal against the denial of a bail request by CNRP official Meach Sovannara.
Judge Kim Sathavy said Mr. Sovannara had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the court and could not be released.
“The decision to not allow Mr. Meach Sovannara temporary bail was the right thing,” she said.
Mr. Sovannara’s defense lawyer, also Mr. Chou Ngy, told reporters outside the court that the wording of judge Sathavy’s decision made little sense considering the bail request was issued before Mr. Sovannara had been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
“I will discuss with my client how to continue working on this case,” he said.
The dual Cambodian-US citizen was charged with “leading an insurrection” after he was involved in a large-scale brawl between government security guards and protesters on July 15, 2014.
He was visited in prison by United Nations Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith last week and discussed prison conditions and overcrowding.
The family of Mr. Sovannara recently filed a court case against Mr. Hun Sen’s eldest son, Hun Manet, in the US, accusing him, as a lieutenant general in the army and head of the anti-terrorism unit, of “wrongful imprisonment.”
Clik here to view.
Khmer Times/May Titthara
Thursday, 27 October 2016
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday decided to proceed with charges of “forging public documents” and “incitement” against former opposition senator Hong Sok Hour and said a verdict would be announced on November 7.
Judge Ros Piseth said that after a day-long hearing for the former Sam Rainsy Party senator, the court decided to proceed with the charges filed against Mr. Sok Hour last August.
More than 100 supporters of the former senator stood outside the court yesterday holding photos of him and staying silent as they waited for the results of the hearing.
Mr. Sok Hour, who has been held in Prey Sar prison, was charged after posting a video to opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page of a fake border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam purporting to show a 1979 deal signed that would dissolve the border between the countries.
After weeks of being questioned by the opposition party on border demarcation and the maps being used for it, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the arrest of Mr. Sok Hour after being told of the video, claiming it “incited” citizens and made the country less safe.
Mr. Sok Hour was arrested two days after Mr. Hun Sen’s pronouncement.
The imprisoned senator claimed at a hearing on October 7 last year that he found the disputed treaty on a website online and did not forge the document. He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
Senior Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) member Son Chhay expressed regret at the court’s decision not to throw out the charges, which he believes are ludicrous and politically motivated.
“The case of Hong Sok Hour is a national issue,” he said. “It is not a joke.”
Numerous groups both inside and outside Cambodia have called Mr. Sok Hour’s arrest unacceptable and a grave insult to the Kingdom’s constitution, which enshrines the right to freedom of speech.
Mr. Sok Hour’s defense lawyer had originally appealed against the Municipal Court’s procedure over the arrest of the accused, who had immunity as a senator at the time of his arrest.
But the government used an obscure law – allowing them to circumvent the immunity if a person was “caught in the act” – to arrest Mr. Sok Hour.
Despite arresting him weeks after he posted the video to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page, the government claimed it was allowed to detain Mr. Sok Hour because the video was still posted to Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page, meaning both were still “in the act” of committing the crime.
Despite the appeal, Judge Soeung Panha Vuth told Mr. Sok Hour’s lawyer, Choung Chou Ngy, to follow the Municipal Court’s order and file all documents related to the 1979 treaty and submit the accused’s electronic devices for investigation.
Mr. Chou Ngy said the judge had violated court procedure and the decision had created an injustice. He added that his client had researched the treaty over a number of years so the evidence was scattered, and added that it would be easier if he could be released on bail to track down and submit the evidence himself.
Mr. Rainsy is facing the same charges for the same video, but he is now in self-imposed exile in France and the government has said it will make every effort to keep him out of the country.
Meanwhile, following up a Municipal Court decision, the Supreme Court decided yesterday to reject an appeal against the denial of a bail request by CNRP official Meach Sovannara.
Judge Kim Sathavy said Mr. Sovannara had already been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the court and could not be released.
“The decision to not allow Mr. Meach Sovannara temporary bail was the right thing,” she said.
Mr. Sovannara’s defense lawyer, also Mr. Chou Ngy, told reporters outside the court that the wording of judge Sathavy’s decision made little sense considering the bail request was issued before Mr. Sovannara had been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
“I will discuss with my client how to continue working on this case,” he said.
The dual Cambodian-US citizen was charged with “leading an insurrection” after he was involved in a large-scale brawl between government security guards and protesters on July 15, 2014.
He was visited in prison by United Nations Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith last week and discussed prison conditions and overcrowding.
The family of Mr. Sovannara recently filed a court case against Mr. Hun Sen’s eldest son, Hun Manet, in the US, accusing him, as a lieutenant general in the army and head of the anti-terrorism unit, of “wrongful imprisonment.”