Thursday, 9 September 2010

Siem Reap row: Trial ends in Chi Kraeng dispute case


via CAAI

Thursday, 09 September 2010 15:00 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap row

THE trial of eight villagers from Siem Reap province’s Chi Kraeng commune charged with incitement, causing injury and destruction of private property in connection with a land dispute, concluded yesterday at Siem Reap provincial court, and the verdict against the group is to be announced on September 21.

Meanwhile, villagers and rights groups said they were informed yesterday that a separate case linked to the dispute would be heard at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh on September 14, and that an additional trial would begin in Siem Reap on September 15.

On Tuesday, a group of plaintiffs from Anlong Samnor commune, which has been embroiled in a dispute over an unspecified amount of farmland with villagers from Chi Kraeng, withdrew an additional civil complaint after an agreement between the two communities.

“I foresee that this dispute can be resolved,” said Huon Chundy, a programme manager at the Cambodian Legal Education Centre, which helped to broker the agreement. “Both sides have taken the initiative to resolve the problem and they said in front of the judge that they will stop accusing each other.”

Presiding Judge Chhay Kong said the agreement reached by the two communities could prompt the court to be lenient.

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