Phnom Penh, 19 March 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) today witnessed the release of Mr. Touch Ream and Mr. Kann Savann, after 10 months in prison in connection with a so-called secessionist movement in Broma village, Kampong Domrey commune, Chhlong district, Kra
tie province. The site is home to a controversial Economic Land Concession (ELC) granted to a Russian Company, Casotim. ADHOC provided lawyers for the men for their hearing at the Court of Appeal on 5-6 March 2013 and for the verdict on 14 March 2013. Outside the prison today there was little fanfare like that seen with the release of their co-defendant on Friday – the prominent journalist and democracy activist Mam Sonando – but the men can now return home with their families. That the men are free is welcome. However, the ruling of the Appeal Court was no victory for justice. Touch Ream and Kann Sovann remain convicted of crimes which no evidence supports, and have lost 10 months of their lives to Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar Prison.
At the appeal hearing, the evidence presented against Mr. Touch Ream or Mr. Kann Sovann was far from compelling. No witnesses for the defense turned up to court, so the testimonies provided by the co-accused at the first trial at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 01 October 2012 were read out. These statements were often contradictory to each other and to statements they had made to the police previously. Furthermore, those co-accused who had implicated Mam Sonando in the so-called secessionist plot were given suspended sentences.
Many questions still remain over the events that happened in Kratie in 2012. Though there was no evidence of any secessionist activity in Broma village, the fallout from the case has been enormous. Numerous people were arrested, four of whom were sentenced to prison terms; a rights worker was harassed and intimidated by the authorities in a serious threat to legitimate human rights work; and a 14 year old girl, Heng Chentha, was killed by security forces. ADHOC calls on the government and competent authorities to learn lessons from the reaction leveled against the villagers from Kratie province. In its attempts to downplay the culpability of the security services in the death of a young girl, who was killed in connection to a land dispute which could equally ha
ve been one of the thousands across the country, it unleashed a storm which left many lives upturned and Cambodia’s international reputation severely diminished.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of Monitoring Section: 011 274 959
Mr. Neil Loughlin, Technical Assistant: 092 648 318; loughlin.adhoc@gmail.com
