Thursday, April 7, 2011

Cambodia: No pardon for Thai pair now

April 7, 2011
By The Nation, Agencies

Nationalist activists Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipattanpaiboon might have to stay behind bars in Cambodia for possibly two-thirds of their jail term or longer, after the Cambodian government officially rejected their requests for a royal pardon.

“According to Cambodian law, whoever is convicted of a crime has to serve two-thirds of his or her jail term before being considered for a royal pardon,” Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said at Phnom Penh International Airport before leaving for Indonesia to hold border meetings with Thailand. “So they [the two Thais] have not met the qualification for royal amnesty.”

Veera and Ratree were arrested on December 29 together with five other Thai nationals, including Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth, while inspecting a disputed border area near Sa Kaew province’s Ban Nongchan.

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