Thach Le, Licadho’s Leang Sokchouen and Thach Vannak are led to Takeo provincial court before their hearing yesterday. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)Tuesday, 31 August 2010
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
Takeo province
TAKEO provincial court has convicted four people of disinformation for their alleged roles in spreading leaflets critical of the government – a verdict rights groups have slammed as unjust.
Following roughly four hours of questioning yesterday, Judge Cheng Bunly convicted all four suspects, including an employee of a human rights NGO, of disinformation, sentencing three of them to two years each in prison and fining them 2 million riels (US$476).
A fourth person – Tach Khong Phoung, who was accused of leading the plot to distribute leaflets – was tried in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison and fined 6 million riels (US$1,430).
The court ruled that the three men who were present – Leang Sokchouen, a staff member of rights group Licadho; Thach Vannak, a former Khmer Krom monk; and Thach Le, a motorbike-taxi driver – scattered anti-government leaflets in three districts in Takeo earlier this year. The leaflets, which were distributed before the January 7 anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, asserted that the day should be remembered as the day Cambodia became “abused and occupied” by Vietnam, rather than celebrated as a day of liberation.
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Following roughly four hours of questioning yesterday, Judge Cheng Bunly convicted all four suspects, including an employee of a human rights NGO, of disinformation, sentencing three of them to two years each in prison and fining them 2 million riels (US$476).
A fourth person – Tach Khong Phoung, who was accused of leading the plot to distribute leaflets – was tried in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison and fined 6 million riels (US$1,430).
The court ruled that the three men who were present – Leang Sokchouen, a staff member of rights group Licadho; Thach Vannak, a former Khmer Krom monk; and Thach Le, a motorbike-taxi driver – scattered anti-government leaflets in three districts in Takeo earlier this year. The leaflets, which were distributed before the January 7 anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, asserted that the day should be remembered as the day Cambodia became “abused and occupied” by Vietnam, rather than celebrated as a day of liberation.
Please click here to read more...
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