Legal and judicial system
Judiciary and courts
Residents seek legislative intervention in land dispute
About 65 villagers from Kampong Speu province’s Phnom Srouch district handed out petitions yesterday urging the National Assembly to push the provincial court into releasing two of their leaders. ...
Ros Chanveasna
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22744/residents-seek-legislative-intervention-in-land-dispute/
Court summons businessmen in connection to timber
Although they remain publicly unnamed, nine businessmen in the timber industry were summoned to appear at the Tbong Khmum provincial court today for alleged deforestation crimes and illegal business dealings, according to officials. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/22346/court-summons-businessmen-in-connection-to-timber/
Environmental campaigner convicted of forestry crime
A prominent anti-dam activist in Koh Kong province who has been jailed since October was convicted Thursday of illegal logging and given a suspended prison sentence, allowing him to walk free but leaving the shadow of a criminal conviction hanging over him. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/109399-109399/
CNRP senator makes case for bail at supreme court
Opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour, who has been in prison since August on incitement and fraud charges, had his request for bail on health grounds heard by the Supreme Court on Friday. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/109120-109120/
Protesters call for release of imprisoned bus driver, activist
About 500 people gathered outside Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison on Tuesday to demand the release of former Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and labor activist Ros Siphay, who were arrested two weeks ago for participating in a demonstration against the company. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/protesters-call-for-release-of-imprisoned-bus-driver-activist-108888/
Gov’t names illegal logging profiteers, but courts won’t prosecute
More than a month has passed since National Anti-Deforestation Committee (NADC) named the people it suspects of profiting from the trade in illegal timber, but not a single arrest warrant or court summons has been issued since. As perpetrators continue to go unpunished, the illegal ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21780/gov---t-names-illegal-logging-profiteers--but-courts-won---t-prosecute/
Environmental ctivist tried, but verdict delayed
The Koh Kong provincial court has delayed issuing a verdict for an environmental activist charged with illegal logging. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/environmental-activist-tried-but-verdict-delayed/3194984.html
Anti-dam activist denies illegal logging charge at trial
On trial at the Koh Kong Provincial Court on Wednesday, anti-dam activist Ven Vorn denied the illegal logging charge laid against him last year over his involvement in the construction of a wooden community center, his lawyer said. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/anti-dam-activist-denies-illegal-logging-charge-at-trial-108652/
Report examines KRT legacy
As parties prepare for Case 002/01 appeal hearings, set to resume on Tuesday, a new report by the Open Society Justice Initiative examines the legacy of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, identifying political interference and insufficient outreach as the court’s primary shortcomings. ...
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/report-examines-krt-legacy
No warrant yet for pedo thought to be in country
Siem Reap police say they are waiting on an arrest warrant from the National Police before taking steps to locate and apprehend convicted Dutch pedophile Pieter Ceulen, who Siem Reap residents placed in town 11 days ago, the very day he was sentenced in Belgium. ...
Mech Dara and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-warrant-yet-pedo-thought-be-country
Ministry of Justice to propose official salary increases
The Ministry of Justice will request a salary raise for all of its judges, clerks and prosecutors, and has plans to create mobile court hearings, according to court officials yesterday. They will need the approval of Prime Minister Hun Sen as well as King Norodom ...
Ven Rathavong
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20734/ministry-of-justice-to-propose-official-salary-increases/
Another arrest warrant issued for Sam Rainsy
Another arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Sam Rainsy—who is living in France to avoid two years in jail for a defamation conviction—after he failed to turn up for questioning about a separate forgery and incitement case last month. ...
Khy Sovuthy and Alex Willemyns
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/104504-104504/
Gov’t prepares labor court for 2017
Government officials said the country’s Labor Court will be established in early 2017 while relevant officials study the technicalities of the court and get information as well as expertise from similar courts in other countries. Of all potential stakeholders, unions say they are the most ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19350/gov---t-preps-labor-court-for-2017/
Seized wood nears end of 120-km trip
After more than a week traveling along remote forest trails in eastern Mondolkiri province, police and forestry officials transporting 30 large pieces of valuable timber seized from Vietnamese loggers earlier this month are expected to reach the end of their 120-km journey today, an official ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/seized-wood-nears-end-of-120-km-trip-104078/
Dissident files lawsuit against Hor Namhong
Sourn Serey Ratha, president of the nascent Khmer Power Party (KPP), on Monday filed a defamation and incitement lawsuit against Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, following through on a threat he made last week. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/dissident-files-lawsuit-against-hor-namhong-103578/
Minister enlists prosecutors to stop crime wave
In the wake of a crime spree that drew a public expression of concern from Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana met with senior prosecutors from Phnom Penh and all 24 provinces on Friday and ordered them to expedite ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/minister-enlists-prosecutors-to-stop-crime-wave-103510/
One more dead in shooting of village chief
A third man died of gunshot wounds in Phnom Penh Wednesday night after an Interior Ministry official gunned down a village chief and his relatives when a neighborhood dispute escalated earlier in the day, police said on Thursday. ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/one-more-dead-in-shooting-of-village-chief-103375/
Hun Sen visits Thailand
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s first state visit to Thailand today and tomorrow will be a milestone in enhancing previously frayed diplomatic relations with Cambodia’s largest neighbor and will also pay off economically, diplomats, executives and analysts say. ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18831/hun-sen-visits-thailand/
Opposition’s return to parliament could help jailed activists
With the return of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to the National Assembly this week, following a boycott that began in November, analysts say there is a chance some of the party’s activists could be released from jail. ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/opposition-return-to-parliament-could-help-jailed-activists/3107125.html
Seventh Chinese man arrested for kidnapping
Military police in Phnom Penh on Wednesday arrested a seventh suspect in the kidnapping of three Chinese men freed on Monday from their captors, who had detained them for two months in a bid to make them pay back loans with the help of their ...
Saing Soenthrith
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/seventh-chinese-man-arrested-for-kidnapping-103263/
Ministry official kills village chief
A seemingly minor dispute between an Interior Ministry official and a village chief in Phnom Penh turned deadly when the official gunned down the village chief and his relative on Wednesday afternoon, according to police, who offered wildly different reports of the shooting. ...
Khy Sovuthy and Anthony Jensen
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/interior-ministry-official-kills-village-chief-103241/
Tutor arrested for molesting young students
A private English tutor in Battambang province has confessed to repeatedly molesting multiple female students as young as 6, following his arrest at the home of one of the girls on Tuesday, an official said on Wednesday. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/tutor-arrested-for-molesting-young-students-103248/
Rights monitor questioned for conducting ‘unlawful’ protest
A senior human rights monitor in Banteay Meanchey province was questioned on Wednesday by the provincial court over a street protest that took place on Monday, but his organization, Adhoc, is claiming that the court breached judicial procedure in getting him there. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/rights-monitor-questioned-for-conductingunlawful-protest-103245/
NGO under scrutiny has history of extortion
The environmental NGO at the center of an extortion scandal in Siem Reap province has a track record of using its employees as racketeers in order to enrich itself, according to officials who have previously dealt with the organization. ...
Aun Pheap
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ngo-under-scrutiny-has-history-of-extortion-103250/