Phnom Penh - A group of 15 Cambodians were leaving for the United States Thursday to take the stand in the trial of a Cambodian American accused of inciting a coup, the delegation leader said. Police Lieutenant General Moeuk Dara said the delegation would act as witnesses in the Los Angeles trial of self-confessed Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) leader Chhun Yasith, scheduled to begin Tuesday.
With much urging from the Cambodian government, the United States designated Yasith's group a terrorist organization for its fatal and failed November 24, 2000, attempted coup in Phnom Penh.
At least four people were killed and more than a dozen injured before police and the military brought the situation under control. Sixty-four CFF members, mostly peasant farmers, were subsequently arrested.
A grand jury recommended that US citizen Yasith should face charges of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy to damage or destroy property in a foreign country and engagement in a military expedition against a nation with whom the United States is at peace.
Formerly a Long Beach, California, accountant before his 2005 arrest, Yasith and his wife, Sras Pech, also face charges of lodging fraudulent tax returns by exploiting information gleaned from Cambodian immigrants.
He faces life in prison without parole on each charge if convicted. Pech also faces a lengthy prison term, possibly life.
The anti-communist CFF seeks to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, charging it with corruption and mismanagement.
With much urging from the Cambodian government, the United States designated Yasith's group a terrorist organization for its fatal and failed November 24, 2000, attempted coup in Phnom Penh.
At least four people were killed and more than a dozen injured before police and the military brought the situation under control. Sixty-four CFF members, mostly peasant farmers, were subsequently arrested.
A grand jury recommended that US citizen Yasith should face charges of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, conspiracy to damage or destroy property in a foreign country and engagement in a military expedition against a nation with whom the United States is at peace.
Formerly a Long Beach, California, accountant before his 2005 arrest, Yasith and his wife, Sras Pech, also face charges of lodging fraudulent tax returns by exploiting information gleaned from Cambodian immigrants.
He faces life in prison without parole on each charge if convicted. Pech also faces a lengthy prison term, possibly life.
The anti-communist CFF seeks to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, charging it with corruption and mismanagement.
No comments:
Post a Comment