Cambodia’s Postponement of RFA Reporters’ Verdict, And Its Explanation, Disappoint

A Cambodian court’s last-minute postponement Friday of the announcement of a verdict in the trial of two former Radio Free Asia journalists left the reporters disappointed, and the government’s explanation for the delay failed to satisfy them or their supporters in the human rights community.

Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin confirmed that presiding judge Im Vannak was busy attending a ministry workshop and postponed the announcement of verdict in the trial of Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin on charges of espionage and the production of pornography.

“In general, the delay of a verdict announcement without any reasonable excuse would affect defendants’ interests, but if there is reasonable excuse, the law permits it,” Chin Malin told RFA’s Khmer Service. He said the delay would not affect the case.

Judge Im Vannak refused to answer questions from RFA about his absence, which was not announced in advance.

Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin both expressed disappointment with the postponement. Their trial concluded on Aug. 9 and a verdict was expected on Friday.

“Please reschedule the verdict announcement soon because I don’t want to be in this situation anymore,” said Uon Chhin.

“I want to return to my journalism. I want this case to come to end because I want to get employment and have the freedom to travel to receive training overseas,” he said.

“I would like the court to announce the verdict soon so that I can have my freedom back,” Yeang Sothearin told RFA.

Soeung Sen Karuna, a spokesman for the human rights group ADHOC, said the delay had inconvenienced the two defendants.

“I don’t think the court should keep delaying the case any longer. There should be a verdict announcement soon to provide positive results for the ex-reporters who endured an unjust trial,” he said.

Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin were taken into custody in November 2017 and charged with “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” under Article 445 of the Criminal Code. They have since had production of pornography added to the charges against them and face a prison term of from seven to 15 years.

Both journalists have maintained that they are innocent of the charges against them, and say they will be vindicated through the courts, while local and international rights groups have condemned their arrests as part of a wider attack on the media in Cambodia and called for their release.

Speaking to RFA’s Khmer Service after the final session of the trial on Aug. 9, defense attorney Sam Chamroeurn said he had asked in his closing statement that the charges against his clients be dismissed, adding that they “should have never been charged to begin with.”

Also speaking to RFA, Yeang Sothearin said that the prosecutors at trial had never substantiated the charges made against them.

“The prosecutor has failed to provide strong evidence to support the charges. I still hope that the court on Aug. 30 will render justice for us so that we can be free,” he said.

Soeng Senkakruna, a spokesperson for the Cambodian rights group ADHOC, agreed after attending the public hearing that prosecutors had failed to prove their case against the two reporters, adding that their charges should be thrown out and damages paid to compensate them for their time spent in jail.

RFA closed its nearly 20-year-old bureau in Phnom Penh on Sept. 12, 2017 amid the crackdown by Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) that also saw the Supreme Court dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) a month later, paving the way for the CPP to sweep the ballot last year.

The arrest of Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin came after a warning from Cambodia’s Ministries of Information and Interior that any journalists still working for RFA after its office in the capital closed would be treated as spies.

They were released on bail in August last year, but were placed under court supervision, which barred them from changing their addresses or traveling abroad, and required them to check in with their local police station once a month.

Cambodian journalists working for RFA had reported over the years on corruption, illegal logging, and forced evictions, among other stories largely ignored by pro-government media, and authorities had already closed independent radio stations carrying RFA reports, using a pretext of tax and administrative violations.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranked Cambodia 142nd out of 180 countries in its 2018 World Press Freedom Index, down from 132nd in 2017, citing the crackdown on independent media in the lead up to last year’s election.

Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.