The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday,
4 August 2011, convicted five men for distributing leaflets between 2008 and
2011 which criticized the RGC for its perceived ties with the government of
Vietnam. The five men, Phon Sam Ath, So Khemarak, Ngor Menghong, Eang Samorn (also
spelt Kieng Samorn) and Chem Bol all aged between 21 and 27 years old, were
convicted on charges of provocation to commit crimes under Article 495 of the
Penal Code. Phon Sam Ath, the alleged mastermind of the plot, and Eang Samorn
received two year prison sentences whereas the other three men received prison
sentences of 18 months. All five were fined two million riel ($487USD).
These are the latest in a series
of convictions by the Cambodian courts of individuals said to have circulated anti-government
material. In August 2010, four
men – including a member of staff from the Cambodian League for the Promotion
and Defense of Human Rights (“LICADHO”) – were convicted for circulating
leaflets in Takeo Province which also criticized perceived ties between the
Cambodian and Vietnamese governments. The men denied distributing the leaflets.
In December 2010, a United Nations World Food Programme Employee – Seng Kunnaka
– was convicted for sharing articles printed from a popular anti-government
website with a small number of co-workers.
The leaflets in the current case,
according to today’s Phnom Penh Post accuse
Prime Minister Hun Sen of selling land to foreign countries and refer to the
Prime Minister as a “traitor” and a “puppet of Vietnam”. A lawyer for one of
the five men has stated that his client denies distributing any leaflets.
There is some disparity in press reports
about how many men spent time in pre-trial detention ahead of yesterday’s
verdict. The Cambodia Daily today reports that Eang Samorn remains at large
while The Phnom Penh Post reports that
all five men were arrested in January or February this year. Regardless, the men who were arrested have
been held in pre-trial detention for a period of five to six months in
violation of Article 209 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Cambodia which
provides that the duration of pre-trial detention may not exceed half of the
minimum sentence set by law for the charged misdemeanor; the minimum sentence
for provocation to commit crimes is, under Article 495 of the Penal Code, six
months imprisonment.
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