Court Releases Four Arrested During Clashes
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday released four of the six men who were charged with assault following violent clashes between security forces, protesters and angry commuters in Phnom Penh last month, and intends to release the remaining two men today, a rights worker said Thursday. Sanh Samoeun, 28; Nguyen Thi Dek, 20; Song Nisai, 20; Var Noeun, 20; Tang Chongseang, 18; and Ek Chan Nu, 17, were arrested by police on the evening of September 15, when a day of demonstrations led by the opposition CNRP turned violent near Monivong Bridge, resulting in a 29-year-old construction worker, Mao Sok Chan, being shot dead. … Srun Leng, chief of Prey Sar’s Correctional Center 1, confirmed that four men were released from the prison facility Thursday. “We released them today at noon, and there is still one man [Mr. Dek] remaining,” Mr. Leng said. Mr. Chan Nu is in Prey Sar’s Correctional Center 2, which houses minors. … CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said the decision to release the six men was likely related to the opposition’s formal request to visit them in prison today. “Two days ago, we wrote a letter to the Ministry of Interior [asking to visit the men]…and today, they took them to the court and they were released,” Ms. Sochua said. Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said the ministry was in no way involved in the case. “We don’t follow the case; it is up to the court, because it [the court] is independent,” Lt. Gen. Sopheak said.
Saing Soenthrith and Ben Woods
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/court-releases-four-arrested-during-clashes-44890/
