Jail Sentence for Anti-Eviction Activist Upheld

The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the guilty verdict for anti-eviction activist Yorm Bopha, but reduced her sentence from three-to two-years imprisonment, of which one year was suspended. The ruling means that Ms. Bopha will not be released until late 2014. … Supporters and human rights groups believe that Ms. Bopha was targeted for arrest because of her activism against land evictions in the city’s contentious Boeng Kak lake area. … “I decide to uphold the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s verdict with the exception that of her three-year jail term, Ms. Bopha is ordered to serve only two years in prison,” presiding Judge Taing Sunlay said Friday, adding that he had changed the charge against Ms. Bopha from intentional violence with aggravating circumstances to masterminding the assault. Judge Sunlay also lowered the amount of money in damages that Ms. Bopha and her co-accused must pay to the plaintiffs in the case. “The four defendants are ordered to pay the two victims 20 million riel compensation, instead of 60 million riel,” or about $15,000, Judge Sunlay said. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/jail-sentence-for-anti-eviction-activist-upheld-31073/