Two More Charges Against Sam Rainsy

Going on with the case of border demarcation 185 in Svay Rieng province along the border with Vietnam in October 2009, and the provincial court sentenced him to 2 years in prison; the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday, March 12, 2010 formally indicted opposition leader Sam Rainsy with forging public documents and spreading disinformation, related to the maps of border poles number 185 and others, using modern tool, called GPS to show that those markers had been planted into Cambodian territory.

The decision of the two new criminal offenses against the opposition leader was made due to the complaint by the government’s lawyer Ky Tech on February 26, 2010. Within two weeks, Sok Roeung, Phnom Penh Municipal Deputy Prosecutor summoned Mr. Sam Rainsy to appear at court on March 9, 2010. At the meantime, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, Mr. Choung Chu Ngy filed a delay application for Mr. Sam Rainsy was still staying abroad. However, he was rejected for the reason that the schedule of the appearance seemed to be too close to ask for delaying.

Mr. Choung Chu Ngy commented on the reject that it was uncommon and far different from other cases, which Prosecutor had allowed to postpone twice due to the legal procedure.

Related to this case, Mr. Sok Reoung said the primary investigation had led to the filing of charges, but that the additional investigations were necessary before a trial date is set.

In this case, the charges of falsifying public document and disinformation, regarding the maps and the document Mr. Sam Rainsy showed in public to the media and also his communal councilors at his office in Phnom Penh early January 2010, he would face an extra 18 years in jail if he was found guilty of the new charges.

For this matter, political analysts, Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, civil society organizations as well as international environments considered it as the case of political issue and it was a kind of the ruling party to restrict on free speech of opposition party to stop criticizing the government. Therefore the case can be solved through political means as well.

Mr. Yem Sovann and Mr. Kim Soupearin from Sam Rainsy Party claimed that the party did not care for the complaints or the reject of delay by Phnom Penh Municipal Court at all because previously the government normally sued its competitors; and the court always took immediate actions to serve the advantage of the government. These parliamentarians also mentioned the case of political matter linked from the case in Svay Rieng province.

Mr. Ou Virak, the president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said that the threat of a two-year prison term was enough to keep Mr. Sam Rainsy out of politics for awhile, or at least until international pressure necessitates his return to the country.

Echoing the above words, Mr. Chan Soveit, Senior Investigator of Human Rights, Adhoc, saw this point as political issue; and recommended that both Sam Rainsy Party and the government should deal with the problem appropriately by sitting together. They should consider the national advantage rather than its own party’s.

Whereas Mr. Sam Rainsy still firmly asserted that what he has been doing so far was only for the national advantage; and he did not pay attention to the complaints from Va Kimhong. He considered territory integrity was the fate of the country; and on behalf of Khmer citizen, he had to be worried about.

On March 14, 2010 Mr. Sam Rainsy talked on the phone from France to his 100 commune councilors in Phnom Penh that he had extra document relating to border demarcation, which had been done by experts in France. He said he would spread it out soon. He also asserted that he had enough documents to prove the fact; and said if anyone denied the demarcation (185) had been planted in Khmer land, they would not care for the national advantage at all.