By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
26/06/2009
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Cambodian editor whose newspaper published stories alleging corruption in the office of a senior government official was found guilty Friday of circulating disinformation in a one-hour trial and sentenced to a year in jail.
Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the Cambodian language newspaper "Khmer Mchas Srok," which supports the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, published articles earlier this year accusing Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and his associates of corruption.
Sok An, who is the right-hand man of Prime Minister Hun Sen, responded by filing a complaint with the court alleging that the articles could affect political stability because they were written about government leaders.
On Friday, Din Sivuthy, a judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, handed down the verdict. Hang Chakra was also ordered to pay a fine of 9 million riel ($2,195). He did not attend the trial but was arrested afterward.
His defence lawyer, Choung Choungy said he will file an appeal. He said the country's leaders "use the court as their tool to shut the mouths of people who dare to criticize or publish uncomplimentary stories."
Soon after the verdict was issued, civil society groups condemned the court's action and called it another blow to freedom of expression in Cambodia.
Naly Pilorge, director of the local human rights group LICADHO, said the verdict was another example of how Cambodia's courts are used as a weapon to silence government critics.
"This verdict once more highlights the judiciary's subservience to the government," she said. "Without a truly independent judiciary, Cambodian democracy and the rights of citizens will never be assured."
On Monday, Cambodia's Parliament stripped immunity from two opposition legislators who face defamation lawsuits filed by the prime minister and senior military officers.
26/06/2009
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Cambodian editor whose newspaper published stories alleging corruption in the office of a senior government official was found guilty Friday of circulating disinformation in a one-hour trial and sentenced to a year in jail.
Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the Cambodian language newspaper "Khmer Mchas Srok," which supports the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, published articles earlier this year accusing Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and his associates of corruption.
Sok An, who is the right-hand man of Prime Minister Hun Sen, responded by filing a complaint with the court alleging that the articles could affect political stability because they were written about government leaders.
On Friday, Din Sivuthy, a judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, handed down the verdict. Hang Chakra was also ordered to pay a fine of 9 million riel ($2,195). He did not attend the trial but was arrested afterward.
His defence lawyer, Choung Choungy said he will file an appeal. He said the country's leaders "use the court as their tool to shut the mouths of people who dare to criticize or publish uncomplimentary stories."
Soon after the verdict was issued, civil society groups condemned the court's action and called it another blow to freedom of expression in Cambodia.
Naly Pilorge, director of the local human rights group LICADHO, said the verdict was another example of how Cambodia's courts are used as a weapon to silence government critics.
"This verdict once more highlights the judiciary's subservience to the government," she said. "Without a truly independent judiciary, Cambodian democracy and the rights of citizens will never be assured."
On Monday, Cambodia's Parliament stripped immunity from two opposition legislators who face defamation lawsuits filed by the prime minister and senior military officers.
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