Judiciary and courts

Members of the Association of Democrats, the group led by jailed activist and Beehive Radio owner Mam Sonando, rallied in front of the Royal Palace yesterday to deliver petitions appealing for his release. Huon Phannary, the deputy secretary-general of the association, said yesterday that nearly 100 ...

The Koh Kong Provincial Court had postponed until October 22 the verdict of Rann Boroth, the man charged with the accidental killing of a military police officer who allegedly killed environmental activist Chut Wutty in the Cardamom Mountains in April. Though rights groups have criticized the ...

The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday questioned one of three human rights workers charged-alongside a journalist-with inciting ethnic minority villagers to protest violently against a powerful agro-industry firm during a 2009 land dispute. A representative of the villagers said yesterday that about 500 of them are planning to gather ...

Lying in a hospital bed at Phnom Penh’s Naga Clinic yesterday well-known tycoon Khaou Chuly said that he may appeal to the prime minister to intervene in an attempted murder conviction against his wife that was upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday. Mr. Chuly, 83, ...

In a bluntly worded statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has shot back at critics of the Mam Sonando verdict, stressing that there were no political motivations to the case and accusing “outsiders” of trying to pressure a sovereign court. “Mr. Mam Sonando is the mastermind of ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has fired back at criticism over the conviction of independent radio station owner Mam Sonando on insurrection charges, accusing “outsiders” of seeking to interfere in the judicial system. Supporters say the case against Mr. Sonando for allegedly leading an anti-government movement ...

Environmental protection group Global Witness has added its voice to the growing criticism of the Koh Kong Provincial Court’s decision to end its investigation int the murder of environmental activist Chut Wutty. The decision to drop the case “can only be described by as the latest ...

More than 600 workers from Kandal province’s Tae Young Co factory yesterday continued to strike, insisting on the return of 16 dismissed workers. Yesterday’s strikes came a day after the Kandal Provincial Court delayed questioning eight of the fired workers over charges that they incited an illegal ...

The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court will appoint a new judge to process complaints filed by ethnic Jarai minority villagers against a firm owned by Keat Kolney, the sister of Finance Minister Keat Chhon, regarding a land dispute that has now dragged on for more than five ...

Villagers accused of incitement in a long-running land dispute with a company owned by the wife of a government minister did not show up for scheduled questioning yesterday at the Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court, officials said. On September 17, KDC Development company, owned by Chea Kheng, the wife of Minister of Industry, ...

When the international community hammered out a hard-fought deal with the government in 2001 for a war crimes tribunal to try the most senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime, they hoped their efforts would also set an example for local court system riddled with ...

An outstanding court warrant for Phnom Penh International University rector Tep Kolap was dropped after the intervention of the premier and his wife, according to Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth. Declining to comment on the extent of the premier’s intervention, deputy commander of ...

In a move that stunned his supporters and drew ire from rights groups and foreign embassies alike, independent radio station owner Mam Sonando was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday on charges of insurrection. Sonando, owner of broadcaster Beehive Radio and president of the rights ...

Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday summonsed three well-known rights workers and a journalist to appear for questioning next week over years-old incitement charges in connection with a long-standing land dispute. In a summons signed by deputy provincial prosecutor Chea Sopheak, the court ordered Radio Free Asia journalist Sok Ratha, ...

The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court yesterday summoned three human rights workers and a journalist over allegations that hey incited indigenous ethnic minority villagers in Lumphat district to protest violently against a powerful agro-industry company in 2009. Deputy court prosecutor Chea Sopheak said he had requested Adhoc provincial ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court handed down a 20-year jail sentence to independent radio station owner Mam Sonando yesterday for his role in fomenting an alleged secessionist movement in a decision drawing condemnation from human rights groups and some of Cambodia’s main foreign donors. The court ...

A Cambodian court has jailed a 71-year-old broadcaster and land rights campaigner for 20 years after finding him guilty of leading an anti-state rebellion, a verdict condemned by activists as the latest crackdown on human rights. Three judges at the Phnom Penh court convicted Sonando, who ...

Three Thai convicted of imprisoning three other Thai and two Chinese nationals over debts owed to a Poipet City casino asked the Appeal Court yesterday to reduce their 25-year prison sentences. The defendants-Chelao Keutthang,42; Chanadet Chareunsuk, 28; and Narungvit Cheuman, 28-were arrested in November 2009 when Banteay ...

Residents of Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak and Borei Keila neighborhoods yesterday sprinkled a concoction of chili, salt and black rice into flames of a small fire in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to “curse” the court officials they accuse of unjustly charging and ...

The Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court has summoned four villagers embroiled in a long-running land dispute over charges of alleged incitement  and violence involving a company owned by the wife of government minister, a court official said yesterday. Two summoned vllagers, from Kompong Tralach district’s Ta Ches commune, faced similar ...

The Kandal Provincial Court on Friday tried a former provincial judge, Huoth Heang, and his clerk, Lim Kompheak, both of whom stand accused of corruption. On January 20, Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officials arrested Judge Heang during a sting operation in which the judge was caught accepting a ...

The man accused of shooting the man who shot environmental activist Chut Wutty last April had been summoned to the Koh Kong Provincial Court to stand trial next month on charges of unintentional homicide, a court official said yesterday. According to deputy prosecutor Srey Mak Ny, ...

A journalist murdered in Ratanakkiri last week took a call from his accused killer on the night of his disappearance, his family has claimed in a complaint to the rights group Adhoc. Ken Sovann, 63, the mother of slain journalist Hang Serei Oudom, whose body was found in his car in O’Chum district ...

The Phnom Penh Court of Appeal yesterday postponed the final hearing of disgraced anti-drug czar Moek Dara, Chea Leng and Morn Doeun until next month, citing a need for more time in light of last-minute investigations by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court, a court official ...