Cambodia: Court Suspected Killers

Cambodian prisoners Born Samnang, left, and Sok Sam Oeun, center, are paraded by police in Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. A Cambodian highest court on Wednesday provisionally released the two believed to have been framed for murdering a prominent labor leader and government critic.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Sok Sam Oeun (centre) the previously convicted murderer of prominent Cambodian labour leader Chea Vichea, is escorted by police at the Supreme court in Phnom Penh. Cambodia's highest court has provisionally released two alleged killers of Vichea and ordered the case to be re-tried, citing unclear evidence.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Cambodia's highest court on Wednesday (31 Dec) provisionally released two imprisoned men many believe were framed in the murder of a prominent labor leader and government critic.

Supreme Court judge Dith Munty ordered the temporary release of Born Samnang, 24 and Sok Sam Oeun, 36, but also ordered further investigation and preparations for the retrial of the two convicted men.

The two are serving 20-year prison terms for the 2004 killing of Chea Vichea, the former head of Cambodia's Free Trade Union of Workers and an outspoken critic of government corruption and human rights abuses.

Dith Munty said the court temporary released the duo since they had already served more than four years of their terms and clarification was needed over some points during the investigation and trial by a lower court.

The release comes after strong protests from leading local and international human rights groups.

"The Cambodian Supreme Court should rely on the evidence and not give in to government pressure when it reviews the case," said Sara Colm, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a statement earlier this week.

"Born Samang and Sok Sam Oeun have already spent five years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, and it is time for justice to be done in this case," the statement added.

Chea Vichea, 36, was the founder and president of the Free Trade Union of Workers. He was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of a newsstand in Phnom Penh on 22 Jan 2004.

Vichea was well known for his outspoken efforts to organize garment workers and to fight for improved working conditions in Cambodia, work he continued in spite of death threats.

(AP)
MySinchew 2008.12.31