Samleang Seila, director of Action pour les enfants Cambodge © C. MCambodge Soir
30-07-2008
The Sihanoukville Municipal Court decision to release a man who abused three minors is under question.
Nikita Belov, age 26, disappeared immediately after his release.He might have already left the country. The Russian received a three year jail sentence after being found guilty of "indecent acts" on two teenagers of 13 and a seven year old. He spent only six and a half months in jail. Two days before he was released he had to pay US$ 500 to the Court and US$ 250 to each of the victims.
Sihanoukville
According to Samleang Seila, director of the NGO Action Pour les Enfants (APE) in Cambodia, the decision of In Manith, the judge, works against the protection of victims. The NGO complained to the Ministry of Justice : “to release on bail a convicted individual and to suspend his sentence is a negative stance towards potential offenders,” said Samleang Seila. Cambodian criminal procedures provide for three cases in suspending a sentence : if the offender is very old, sick or if he is the only breadwinner of an underprivileged family, “and M.Nikita Belov did not fit into any of these categories”, added Samleang Seila.
Sihanoukville Municipal Court officials claim that they do not make any “complacent decisions” in dealing with foreign paedophiles.
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