Phnom Penh Post
Adhoc senior
investigator Chan Soveth (C) is surrounded by supporters outside Phnom
Penh Municipal Court, Monday, Dec. 24, 2012. Photograph: Heng
Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
Senior Adhoc investigator Chan Soveth avoided detention yesterday
following questioning at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, but the
investigating judge refused to drop the charge of aiding a perpetrator.
The court also imposed a strict monitoring condition on the rights
worker, requiring him to inform the court of his whereabouts whenever he
leaves the capital.
Outside the courtroom yesterday afternoon, a coterie of rights
monitors from Adhoc and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights grew increasingly tense as the closed-door questioning of Soveth
inched into a second hour.
At last, some 70 minutes after entering, a jubilant Soveth stepped out of the room and announced he would not be detained.
“The court decided not to arrest me, but the charges still stand,” he told a reporter outside the courtroom.
“They did not drop the charges and the prosecutor is still
investigating the case,” he added briefly, before heading downstairs and
out the court gates, where he was met with cheers from the roughly 100
protesters and rights workers who had gathered in front.
“We hunger for justice, so that is why we came to support him,” said
59-year-old Nge Phan, who travelled from Stung Treng to keep an eye on
the proceedings.
“He is a human right worker and he still got a court summons. So what
does this mean for ordinary people? What will happen to us if we dare
to speak out like him?”
Accused of aiding a perpetrator – a crime that carries a sentence of
up to three years in prison – Soveth remains potentially subject to
further questioning and a hearing, should the court decide to press
ahead.
While officials have remained tight-lipped on the details, Soveth’s
lawyers said that according to the case file, the rights worker stands
accused of aiding one of the masterminds of the so-called Kratie
secession plot.
The accusation has been roundly denied by Soveth, his lawyers and employers.
In the wake of the Mam Sonando case, however, rights workers have
kept a close eye on the situation amid mounting fears that Soveth could
face similar treatment.
The independent broadcaster was in October sentenced to 20 years in
prison for stoking the supposed separatist movement in Kratie – a claim
widely derided as politically motivated.
“It’s a good sign they let him out. They let him at least stay out of
detention. But the charge remains. Therefore, it’s still an issue that
we need to monitor closely, and the issue’s still of concern,” said
Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak.
And as long as the charge still hangs over the investigator,
meanwhile, the pressure on him and other rights workers remains at the
forefront.
“There’s a lot of nervousness among activists,” admitted Virak.
“There’s a trend, a few events pointing to the fact that the government
will not be shy from repressing freedom of expression and repressing
some peoples’ work.”
At a brief press conference held at the Adhoc offices, President Thun Saray urged the court to drop the charges altogether.
“As he told the prosecutor he is not guilty, and as a human right
activist he does not violate the law,” said Saray, adding that the
monitoring conditions were unduly harsh and would doubtless impact the
investigator’s ability to do his job.
Investigating judge Chhe Virak could not be reached for comment.
To contact the reporters on this story: May Titthara at
titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com
Abby Seiff at
abby.seiff@phnompenhpost.com
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