Hang Chakra (R) at his arrival in court for appeal hearing (Photo: DAP news)The Sun Daily
Phnom Penh (Aug 11, 2009) : Cambodia's Appeal Court today rejected the appeal of a newspaper editor jailed in June on disinformation charges.
Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok, was jailed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for one year on June 26 and fined 9 million riel (2,250 dollars) for articles written earlier this year alleging corruption in the office of a senior government minister.
Hang Chakra's lawyer, Choung Choung Y, said the ruling by Appeal Court Judge Seng Sivutha was unfair because his client had not printed false information.
"I will meet with my client and appeal to the Supreme Court," he told the German Press Agency dpa.
The court's June ruling was condemned by human rights groups and media rights organizations which expressed concern that the conviction was part of a growing crackdown by the government on critical voices.
Sara Colm, country specialist for Human Rights Watch, said the Appeal Court decision was "more than disappointing."
"This is yet another indication that the space for opposition journalists and NGOs and human rights defenders in Cambodia is shrinking," Colm said.
"The fact that this was upheld on appeal will only solidify the control of the ruling party over the press and dissenting voices."
Some donor governments have also spoken out. On Friday, the European Union's representatives based in Phnom Penh met with government officials to voice their misgivings.
In a statement released after the meeting, the EU representatives expressed concern over "a number of instances in which criminal charges of defamation and disinformation have been used against representatives of civil society, the media and the political opposition."
The government has this year brought a number of defamation and disinformation charges against opposition parliamentarians, media workers and members of civil society. -- dpa
Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok, was jailed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for one year on June 26 and fined 9 million riel (2,250 dollars) for articles written earlier this year alleging corruption in the office of a senior government minister.
Hang Chakra's lawyer, Choung Choung Y, said the ruling by Appeal Court Judge Seng Sivutha was unfair because his client had not printed false information.
"I will meet with my client and appeal to the Supreme Court," he told the German Press Agency dpa.
The court's June ruling was condemned by human rights groups and media rights organizations which expressed concern that the conviction was part of a growing crackdown by the government on critical voices.
Sara Colm, country specialist for Human Rights Watch, said the Appeal Court decision was "more than disappointing."
"This is yet another indication that the space for opposition journalists and NGOs and human rights defenders in Cambodia is shrinking," Colm said.
"The fact that this was upheld on appeal will only solidify the control of the ruling party over the press and dissenting voices."
Some donor governments have also spoken out. On Friday, the European Union's representatives based in Phnom Penh met with government officials to voice their misgivings.
In a statement released after the meeting, the EU representatives expressed concern over "a number of instances in which criminal charges of defamation and disinformation have been used against representatives of civil society, the media and the political opposition."
The government has this year brought a number of defamation and disinformation charges against opposition parliamentarians, media workers and members of civil society. -- dpa
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