By May Titthara
Monday, 07 May 2012
Phnom Penh Post
Slain environmental activist Chut Wutty speaks to
reporters in Phnom Penh earlier this year. Photograph: Phnom Penh
Post/Hong Menea
An unintentional murder charge handed to security guard Ran Boroth on
Friday for allegedly killing military police officer In Rattana has left
rights groups asking why officials initially claimed the deceased man
had committed suicide.
Only three days after it was established
by Prime Minister Hun Sen, a joint investigative committee alleged on
Friday that environmental activist Chut Wutty had been shot by In
Rattana, who had in turn been accidentally shot when Ran Boroth
attempted to disarm him.
But on April 27, a report from the Koh
Kong provincial military police found that In Rattana had allegedly
turned his own weapon on himself after shooting Chut Wutty – the late
director of the Natural Resource Protection Group.
Tith Sothea, deputy director of the Council of Ministers Press and Quick Reaction Unit and a member of the joint committee, said yesterday that their investigations were now closed into the matter.
“We
don’t care about some NGOs who criticise us. What our committee has
done is get the evidence that is true. Now we can provide the justice to
the victim’s family,” he said.
He added that the conclusion had
been made after interviewing all witnesses to the shooting – which took
place on April 26 after Chut Wutty and two journalists stopped to
photograph stockpiles of timber in Koh Kong province’s Mondul Seima
district.
He also confirmed that Ran Boroth is a security guard
for the company Timbergreen, which is licensed to clear the reservoirs
of the Lower Stung Russey Chrum dam project near where the shooting took
place.
But he said In Rattana had no such connection to the firm
and reiterated the official line that he shot Chut Wutty because of a
personal dispute and had been acting completely independently of any
military orders.
That dispute reportedly arose after Ran Boroth and then In Rattana attempted to take the memory card from Chut Wutty’s camera.
If
found guilty of unintentional murder, Ran Boroth would face between one
and three years in prison and a fine of two to six million riels
(US$497 to $1,490).
Khieu Sarsileap, who was listed as the
majority shareholder of Timbergreen in the company’s August 2010
business listing with the Ministry of Commerce, did not answer the phone
yesterday and contact details for Timbergreen could not be found.
Kheng
Tito, spokesman for military police, said the reason the joint
investigative committee’s findings contradicted the original official
conclusion was because the first report had been made before
investigations had concluded.
“It is simple: When the joint committee investigated, they found new things.”
Chut
Wutty’s wife, 40-year-old Sam Chanthy, yesterday rejected the finding
and said there were other reasons behind her husband’s death than just a
mere personal argument with In Rattana – the official account of the
military police.
“I will find a lawyer to help me to file a complaint to the appeal court to find justice for my husband,” she said.
Chut
Wutty was a prominent opponent of illegal logging and had repeatedly
alleged that Timbergreen exploited reservoir-clearing licences to cut
down trees far outside of their permits.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights,
said investigations also needed to be launched into illegal logging in
the Cardamom Mountains that Chut Wutty had been examining and the
cover-up he alleged local authorities instigated after the shooting.
“I
think to me that that is a very serious situation, and it indicates to
me that the local authorities have an interest in closing the case, to
make sure no one is charged with these killings,” he said, referring to
the original military police finding that In Rattana had killed himself.
Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for the rights group Adhoc,
said the contradictions between the two reports and the haste of the
committee’s findings showed the need for a truly independent
investigation.
“This investigation did not show the truth. The
government should create an independent investigation that allows NGOs
to participate,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.comWith assistance from David Boyle
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