Phnom Penh, 8th December 2011: On 8th December, 2011, a press conference was held at ADHOC offices in support of villagers from Kampong Chhnang province, who are calling for the release of their village representative. On 7th December, the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh held a hearing in response to calls for the overturning of the conviction of Mr. Sor Sung, who was found guilty of attempted murder by Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court in 2007. ADHOC argues that in the initial case, the provincial court did not lawfully convict Mr. Sor Sung: the prosecution did not produce concrete evidence and the defendant was not present for the trial. The case had not been thoroughly investigated and the witnesses who were called were false. Therefore the victim, Mr. Sor Sung was not afforded a fair trial, for a crime that he did not commit. Sor Sung, who is now 50 years old after already serving almost four years of his ten-year sentence, is a representative of Lor Peang village. His village was and still is embroiled in a land dispute with KDC Development Company, which is owned by Chea Kheang, wife of Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Suy Sem.
When KDC attempted to begin development on the disputed land in July 2007, Mr. Sor Sung, acting as representative of his village, attempted to defend the rights of fellow villagers. A violent clash ensued between Sor Sung and Sok Vanny, a representative of the company. Both parties were injured. The police received a complaint on 21 July about the dispute from the KDC employee. An investigation into the case was opened and Mr. Sor Sung was charged with attempted murder, despite the lack of medical or other tangible evidence. The case went to the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court, where on 24 December 2007, the investigative judge decided to arrest and detain the suspect Mr. Sor Sung at Kampong Chhnang prison while he awaited trial.
ADHOC monitors found that the Kampong Chnnang Provincial Court was not independent and did not respect the fair trial rights of the accused. They had the intention to charge and convict Sor Sung, landowner and village representative, from the offset. The defendant was accused of a serious criminal offence, despite the case against him being extremely weak. ADHOC monitors observed the deliberation of the provincial court to be non-transparent, biased and unlawful.
The subsequent deliberation at the Appeal Court was deemed similar: Fair trial rights were violated; including the accused’s fundamental right to defence. The defendant was not even present at either hearing: a grave breach of Cambodian and International Law. The rule of law was violated in a trial and appeal hearing that clearly illustrated everything that is awry with the Cambodian court system.
Despite ADHOC’s attempts to ensure Mr. Sor Sung’s presence at the Supreme Court hearing on 7th December, including offering to cover the cost of his travel, the victim was not transported to the court. When the absence of the accused became apparent, ADHOC attempted to delay the hearing but this was overthrown by the court. The flagrant lack of respect for fair trial rights and the rule of law demonstrated in this case bears heavily on the situation for human rights in Cambodia. Without an independent judiciary perpetrators will continue to go unpunished and innocent men and women will continue to be charged in order to guarantee their silence.
On 7th December the Supreme Court held the abovementioned hearing but once again fair trial rights were not adhered to. In an attempt to rectify this situation and to ensure fair trial rights are respected in the future, ADHOC would like to express its concern and to call on the court to reopen the case and to investigate the facts correctly. We urge the Supreme Court to call relevant witnesses and for the victim, Mr. Sor Sung, to be present at the hearing. In doing so Mr. Sor Sung’s innocence will be proven.
For further information on this case please contact Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of the Monitoring Section of ADHOC: 011274959 or Mr. Chan Soveth, Deputy Head: 016937591
