Mr. Sam rainsy (with classes) leading workers' rally on Labour Day in 2008 in Phnom Penh. Published: January 27, 2010
SVAY RIENG, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court sentenced the country's opposition leader in absentia Wednesday to two years imprisonment for a political protest in which border markers were uprooted on the frontier with Vietnam.
Sam Rainsy, the head of the self-titled Sam Rainsy Party, led a group of villagers last October in pulling out the markers as a way to dramatize his claim that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian territory, an issue he often raises to garner political support.
Human rights worker Chheng Sophas, who attended Wednesday's one-day trial, said Sam Rainsy had been found guilty of destruction of public property and inciting people to commit a criminal act. Sam Rainsy, whose immunity from prosecution was stripped in November so he could face trial, did not attend the hearing and is in France.
Two villagers who took part in the protest were sentenced to one year each in prison, Chheng Sophas said.
Sam Rainsy scoffed at the decision, saying it was politically motivated and more evidence that the country's courts were controlled by the government.
"I don't care about this sentence," he said by telephone from Paris. "I will continue to fight for justice for Cambodians who are victimized by land grabbing, including border encroachment."
Human rights groups have charged that the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen uses legal pressures and its overwhelming parliamentary majority to intimidate critics and the opposition.
In late June, two other Sam Rainsy Party members were stripped of their immunity so they could face defamation lawsuits filed by Hun Sen and senior military officers, respectively. Sam Rainsy in February also had his immunity temporarily lifted until he paid a fine for an electoral law violation.
Sam Rainsy has claimed that he personally did not touch the six markers that were moved. The action attracted little attention until early November, when Vietnam officially protested it.
Sam Rainsy charged that a much publicized dispute with Cambodia's western neighbor Thailand over a tiny patch of border jungle was meant to distract attention from Vietnam's alleged large-scale land encroachment.
Wednesday's hearing was held behind closed doors, with the court barring journalists and civil society activists for what was said to be the sake of public order.
Sam Sokong, a lawyer for the two convicted villagers, told reporters outside the courtroom that the "verdict is totally unjust" and he would discuss the prospects for appeal with his clients.
SVAY RIENG, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court sentenced the country's opposition leader in absentia Wednesday to two years imprisonment for a political protest in which border markers were uprooted on the frontier with Vietnam.
Sam Rainsy, the head of the self-titled Sam Rainsy Party, led a group of villagers last October in pulling out the markers as a way to dramatize his claim that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian territory, an issue he often raises to garner political support.
Human rights worker Chheng Sophas, who attended Wednesday's one-day trial, said Sam Rainsy had been found guilty of destruction of public property and inciting people to commit a criminal act. Sam Rainsy, whose immunity from prosecution was stripped in November so he could face trial, did not attend the hearing and is in France.
Two villagers who took part in the protest were sentenced to one year each in prison, Chheng Sophas said.
Sam Rainsy scoffed at the decision, saying it was politically motivated and more evidence that the country's courts were controlled by the government.
"I don't care about this sentence," he said by telephone from Paris. "I will continue to fight for justice for Cambodians who are victimized by land grabbing, including border encroachment."
Human rights groups have charged that the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen uses legal pressures and its overwhelming parliamentary majority to intimidate critics and the opposition.
In late June, two other Sam Rainsy Party members were stripped of their immunity so they could face defamation lawsuits filed by Hun Sen and senior military officers, respectively. Sam Rainsy in February also had his immunity temporarily lifted until he paid a fine for an electoral law violation.
Sam Rainsy has claimed that he personally did not touch the six markers that were moved. The action attracted little attention until early November, when Vietnam officially protested it.
Sam Rainsy charged that a much publicized dispute with Cambodia's western neighbor Thailand over a tiny patch of border jungle was meant to distract attention from Vietnam's alleged large-scale land encroachment.
Wednesday's hearing was held behind closed doors, with the court barring journalists and civil society activists for what was said to be the sake of public order.
Sam Sokong, a lawyer for the two convicted villagers, told reporters outside the courtroom that the "verdict is totally unjust" and he would discuss the prospects for appeal with his clients.
No comments:
Post a Comment