Opposition senator goes on trial over Facebook posting
PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian opposition senator was denied bail and went on trial yesterday over comment he posted on Facebook criticising a 36-yeear-old border agreement with Vietnam.
Hong Sok Hour faces up to 17 years in prison. His arrest on Aug 15 was one of a series of recent actions taken against political opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Appearing in court in an orange prison uniform, a far cry from the tailored Western suit he was wearing when he was arrested, the senator from the Cambodia National Rescue Party said he has high blood pressure and other medical conditions that require medication he was not getting in prison.
"I will not run away if you release me on bail," said Hong Sok Hour, who has been held in pretrial detention since his arrest. Presiding judge Ros Piseth denied the bail request without giving a reason.
Human Right Watch and other international right group have called on authorities to drop the case against Hong Sok Hour, saying he was wrongfully charged and that prosecuting him is part of the government's latest crackdown on the political opposition.
Hong Sok Hour was arrested after Hun Sen accused him of treason for the online posting, which included the purported text of a 1979 treaty with Vietnam that declared that their mutual border would be dissolved, Hun Sen --- who was foreign minister at he time in a government installed by a Vietnamese occupation force that invaded Cambodia to oust the murderous Khmer Rouge regime --- insisted the treaty was forged.
Hog Sok Hour was indicted on three charges including falsifying public documents, using fake document and inciting chaos. The charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years, five years and two years, respectively.
The Cambodia National Rescue Party has been seeking political gains by accusing Vietnam of encroaching on Cambodian soil --- a sensitive topic that has ramped up tensions at the border.
"Relations between Cambodia and Vietnam are politically sensitive, but they are no excuse for bringing criminal charges over a disputed document," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Right Watch. "The Cambodian government has already pointed out that the document was inaccurate and in a democracy the matter should be left at that."
Hong Sok Hour has denied the charges. He says he did not write the contentious document but downloaded if from a website and included it on a video he posted on Facebook, thinking the information was correct, according, to his lawyer.
"There is no evidence, though that Hong Sok Hour himself created the inaccurate text, that he was aware of inaccuracies in it, or that his intention in making it public was to cause anything more than further discussions of the border issue," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "An examination of the language used in the two texts strongly indicated that the version posted by Hong Sok Hour is not a forgery, but bad translation back into Khmer of a poor translation of the Khmer original into French of English."
In recent months, Hun Sen has used his public speeches to deliver what amounts to arrest orders, which are generally carried out quickly. AP