Cambodia: No Justice for Grenade Victims

Source: Human Rights Watch

US Should Revive Inquiry Into 1997 Attack and Reassess Aid to Units Linked to Abuse

Related Materials: Cambodia: 1997 Grenade Attack on Opposition Still Unpunished.

(New York, March 29, 2010) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should revive its investigation into the deadly 1997 grenade attack on an opposition party rally in Phnom Penh that left at least 16 dead and more than 150 wounded, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Cambodian government has failed to take any steps to investigate or hold perpetrators accountable, despite strong evidence of complicity by Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit in the attack. The FBI undertook an investigation into the grenade attack because a US citizen, Ron Abney, was among those wounded.

"The United States claims that human rights and the rule of law are primary policy goals in Cambodia, yet it withdrew the FBI just when it was close to solving the case and has done nothing for over a decade to resolve it," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This attack has cast a shadow over Cambodia that will only be lifted when the perpetrators are brought to justice."

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