Veera, Ratree may have to wait until next May for jail term reduction

Veera and Ratree escorted to court by Cambodian police.

October 4, 2011
The Nation

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen may seek reduction of jail term for yellow-shirt activists in May next year during King Norodom Sihamoni's birthday and the traditional Khmer New Year, Cambodian media reported Tuesday.

Hun Sen promised Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra when she visited Phnom Penh last month to seek the reduction of sentence for nationalist activists Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipattanapaiboon who were being jailed for espionage charge.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said that bilateral talks between Cambodia and Thailand could pave the way for an eventual prisoner exchange or royal pardon, but stressed that the two activists must first serve two-thirds of their jail terms.