At Appeal Court, Ex-Soldiers Deny Violent 2012 Land Grab
Two disabled former soldiers convicted of razing the homes and grabbing the land of 30 rice farmers in Kampot province last year denied the charges during their hearing at the Appeal Court on Thursday. Touch Soeuly, 57, and 11 other members of his Cambodian Disabled Rescue Association were convicted by the Kampot Provincial Court last year of violently occupying the 200 hectares in dispute and leveling the homes of 30 families growing rice there, and sentenced them to between two years and five years in jail. Only six of them appealed the convictions, and only Mr. Soeuly and another member of the association, Van Von, were in court Thursday to defend themselves. Presiding Judge Khun Leang Meng said none of the 30 plaintiffs showed up either, because they did not have lawyers. However, the judge read a prepared statement from the plaintiffs in which they claimed they were injured when the association members allegedly leveled their homes and took their land. …
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/at-appeal-court-ex-soldiers-deny-violent-2012-land-grab-49723/
