via CAAI
Dec 7, 2010
Phnom Penh - A court on Tuesday dismissed pornography charges against a Japanese photojournalist and the couple he had photographed on an assignment in the tourist city of Siem Reap.
Go Takayama, 28, a participant in a workshop at the Angkor Photo Festival, was arrested in late November and charged last week.
The court prosecutor told local media that Takayama had been charged with pornography after police accused him of taking dozens of images of sex workers at a brothel.
Jessica Lim, who helped coordinate the festival, said the police allegations were untrue and stressed that the married Cambodian couple in his images had consented to be photographed and there was no nudity in his photos.
Lim said festival organizers welcomed Takayama's acquittal.
'We have always known Go Takayama was innocent, and so we are very relieved at the court's decision,' she said.
Lim said Takayama and the couple had been taken back to prison from court while their release paperwork was processed and would be freed Wednesday.
His plight drew criticism from media organizations inside and outside Cambodia.
The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia on Monday released a statement expressing its concern at the arrests, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, a US-based organization that promotes press freedom, said the government should drop the charges against him.
Takayama had faced up to one year in prison if found guilty.
The photographs were taken as part of his involvement in a workshop at the week-long festival, which closed November 27.
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