| Original report from Phnom Penh 18 September 2008 |
Khmer audio aired 18 September 2008 (970 KB) - Listen (MP3)
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| Prince Norodom Ranariddh, left, talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen during a blessing ceremony at the Royal Palace for King Norodom Sihamoni in 2004. |
"I'm sincerely grateful to Samdech PM for his speech and for allowing me to return to
Prince Ranariddh faces an 18-month prison sentence and a fine of $150,000 on a breach of trust conviction that was upheld by the Supreme Court in July. The suit was brought by Funcinpec Secretary-General Nhiek Bunchhay following the sale of the party's headquarters when Prince Ranariddh was the president.
The Norodom Ranariddh Party has requested a royal pardon from the king, but royal cabinet officials have said the king has sought agreement from Hun Sen.
Hen Sen said Wednesday the prince was free to return, but a spokesman said no request for the suspension of his guilty verdict had been made.
Norodom Ranariddh Party spokesman Suth Dina said Thursday the party was preparing another request to the prime minister to accept a royal pardon, but they were waiting to send the letter until after the new government swears in later this month.
The reluctance of the prince to return without a pardon follows correspondence with Hun Sen on Thursday.
The invitation to return was a show of "reconciliation," the prince wrote to Hun Sen on Thursday, but he did not say whether he would accept it.
Lao Monghay, a researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, said the invitation of Hun Sen to suspend the prince's guilty sentence was an extrajudicial, political step outside the mandate of the executive branch of the government.
Without a royal pardon, the prince must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before it can be suspended by law, Lao Monghay said.
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