Brunei Times
PHNOM PENH
Thursday, January 1, 2009
CAMBODIA'S highest court yesterday provisionally released two alleged killers of a prominent labour leader and ordered the case to be re-tried, citing unclear evidence.
Chea Vichea, who headed the country's largest labour union and was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, was gunned down at a Phnom Penh newsstand in January 2004.
The daylight murder shocked the country and was condemned by Cambodian and international rights groups as a brutal attempt to silence the opposition-linked workers' group.
Just days after the killing, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested, convicted of murder and quickly sentenced to 20 years each in prison.
International and local rights watchdogs had called the conviction and trial deeply flawed.After the two men made their final appeal during a hearing yesterday at the Supreme Court, judge Dith Monty, the court's president, dismissed the conviction, which was upheld by the Appeal Court in 2007."
The case is a criminal one which requires more investigation," Dith Monty said, adding that to make sure the men's rights were not violated, the court had "decided to release the two suspects provisionally, but under watch of the court."
The judge also ordered the Appeal Court to retry the case, adding that the two men had to appear before the court when summoned.
The pair have denied any involvement in the killing.
Former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who led the investigation, has also said that the two did not kill Chea Vichea.
The men told the court, which was packed with diplomats, rights activists, journalists and their relatives, that they had been framed by a group of police.
UN rights officials, the United States and relatives of the accused welcomed the court's decision."It was greeted with a warm round of applause".
AFP
PHNOM PENH
Thursday, January 1, 2009
CAMBODIA'S highest court yesterday provisionally released two alleged killers of a prominent labour leader and ordered the case to be re-tried, citing unclear evidence.
Chea Vichea, who headed the country's largest labour union and was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, was gunned down at a Phnom Penh newsstand in January 2004.
The daylight murder shocked the country and was condemned by Cambodian and international rights groups as a brutal attempt to silence the opposition-linked workers' group.
Just days after the killing, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested, convicted of murder and quickly sentenced to 20 years each in prison.
International and local rights watchdogs had called the conviction and trial deeply flawed.After the two men made their final appeal during a hearing yesterday at the Supreme Court, judge Dith Monty, the court's president, dismissed the conviction, which was upheld by the Appeal Court in 2007."
The case is a criminal one which requires more investigation," Dith Monty said, adding that to make sure the men's rights were not violated, the court had "decided to release the two suspects provisionally, but under watch of the court."
The judge also ordered the Appeal Court to retry the case, adding that the two men had to appear before the court when summoned.
The pair have denied any involvement in the killing.
Former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov, who led the investigation, has also said that the two did not kill Chea Vichea.
The men told the court, which was packed with diplomats, rights activists, journalists and their relatives, that they had been framed by a group of police.
UN rights officials, the United States and relatives of the accused welcomed the court's decision."It was greeted with a warm round of applause".
AFP
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