SRP Lawmaker (Ho Vann) Summoned for Questioning over Defamation

On 25 May 2009, municipal court Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun was invited SRP lawmaker Ho Vann to appear at the court on June 5 for questioning over allegations of “defamation and incitement to case felony-misdemeanor crime successfully and incitement to cause felony-misdemeanor crime successfully and incitement to cause felony-misdemeanor crime unsuccessfully.” This invitation responded to the lawsuit filed by two lawyers, Kheng Ly and Taing Meng Sroy, on behaft of the 22 RCAF officers who received the decrees from the Vietnamese military. The cause of the lawsuit against Ho Vann is his criticism expression toward the 22 RCAF officers who received the decrees from the Vietnamese military.

A day before the punishment, Mr. Ho Vann had been called by the journalist, Neou Vannarin for comments on the certificates of those RCAF officers. However, the conversation between the reporter and Mr. Ho Vann was not clearly known because Vannarin said he had not recorded. Except for a few words quoted at the end of the article published on April 21, 2009 to claim that, “The provided certificate is just to strengthen the receivers’ power over their subordinates, but the quality of the certificate is worthless”.

SRP lawmaker, Ho Vann and Neou Vannarin were asked to present on trial at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on July 17, 2009; Mr. Ho Van was absent. Whereas Neou Vannarin asked for no comments or answering any questions at all, because before that on July 10, the editor-in-chief of the Cambodia Daily wrote on his letter to the court that he would take full responsibility for this case on behalf of the Editor-in-Chief. Then Judge Sin Visal told the courtroom that he agreed with Deputy Prosecutor Hing Bunchea, who had requested during the trial that the case be sent back to the prosecution in order to question Mr. Kevin Doyle, Daily Editor-in-Chief instead.

On the afternoon of September 9, 2009 the Phnom Penh Municipal Court continued this in the present of the Cambodia Daily’s editor-in-chief Kevin Doyle to clarify the article published on April 21, 2009. Mr. Ho Vann was absent again. During the process of the hearing and answering the judge’s questions the Editor said [after his interpreter translated for him] he did receive a letter from Ho Vann to ask for correction. As he could remember he had corrected as requested in both English and Khmer languages. However, the article issued the following day was only in English.

For this reason, the government’s lawyer dropped his charge against the Cambodia Daily on the plaintiffs’ behalf, but still asked Mr. Ho Vann to pay the compensation of 10 million riel for each client; and requested to judge to follow the legal procedure.

In the end, the judge decided to issue the verdict on September 22, 2009.

On September 22, 2009 at 2:30, Phnom Penh Municipal Court announced the verdict that Mr. Ho Vann was not found guilty of the case. He was trying to ask for collection, but the newspaper missed to do so. Therefore the judge decided to drop charge against him; whereas Neou Vannarin and Kevin Doyle were found guilty of disinformation. The judge asked them to pay each of 4 million riels [1,000 USD].