A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced an opposition senator to seven years in prison for material he posted to Facebook. Critics say the case is an example of the Cambodian government's efforts to suppress opposition.

Hong Sok Hour, a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was arrested in 2015 after he posted a purported copy of the 1979 border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the document was forged and accused Sok Hour of treason.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Sok Hour guilty of falsifying public documents, using fake documents and inciting chaos.

"This verdict once again shows the weakness of this court system in Cambodia. The court, which represent the justice for all Cambodians, does not give justice to Mr Hong Sok Hour, not only him but in many other politically-motivated cases," said Son Chhay, a member of parliament who also belongs to the Cambodia National Rescue Party.

Last month another opposition lawmaker, Um Sam Ann, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his online postings about the border with Vietnam. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced an opposition senator to seven years in prison over comments he posted on Facebook criticizing a 36-year-old border agreement with neighboring Vietnam.

Judge Ros Piseth of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found senator Hong Sok Hour, a member of country’s main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty of falsifying public documents, using fake documents and inciting chaos.

Hong Sok Hour and his defense lawyer did not appear before the court, but Son Chhay, an opposition lawmaker who attended the hearing, told reporters that the conviction reflected the court’s lack of independence. “For me, I am already aware that this case is political motivated,” Son Chhay said.

Hong Sok Hour was arrested in August 2015 after Prime Minister 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 the 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.

Hong Sok Hour is the latest opposition figure to run afoul of the law in what activists say is the willful use of the courts to suppress government critics.

The case is one of several hanging over opposition leaders in what is generally seen as an attempt to disrupt their organizing efforts ahead of local elections next June. The next general election is not until the middle of 2018, but holding power at the local level is an advantage when national polls are held.

On Friday, an appeals court upheld a five-month prison term for opposition leader Kem Sokha’s refusal to twice answer a court summons, in a case involving his alleged mistress, but which his supporters say is politically motivated.

A month ago, another opposition lawmaker, Um Sam Ann, who has been a strong critic of the government’s handling of demarcating the border with Vietnam, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for his online postings. </s> Cambodia's exiled opposition leader has been tried in absentia on charges of conspiring to incite chaos through false documents posted on his Facebook page, a crime punishable by up to 17 years in prison.

Two other opposition members, who ran and maintained Sam Rainsy's Facebook page, also were tried on the same charges - conspiracy to falsify public documents, inciting chaos and using fake documents. The two fled Cambodia in August 2015 to avoid arrest. Sam Rainsy, the president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, lives in exile in France.

After a brief hearing Friday that included statements by the prosecutor and the defense, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court adjourned the trial and set the verdict for Dec. 22. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has found the country’s exiled opposition leader guilty of defamation for alleging that a senior government official sought to inflate Prime Minister Hun Sen’s online popularity by buying “likes” for his Facebook page.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday found Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of 10 million riel ($2,500) in addition to 15 million riel ($3,750) in compensation to Sam Soeun, a senior official assigned to oversee Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

There has been a flurry of cases against opposition members in Cambodia’s courts, widely believed to be under the influence of Hun Sen’s government, with the intention of disrupting their organizing efforts ahead of local elections in June. </s> An Australian filmmaker has been sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of espionage in Cambodia.

After a six-day trial, Judge Seng Leang on Friday found James Ricketson guilty on two charges of espionage.

"We have decided to convict [him] to six years in prison for espionage and collecting harmful information that could affect national defence," he said.

The prosecution had accused Ricketson of working as a filmmaker in Cambodia for years as a front for spying.

"Unbelievable. Which country am I spying for?" Ricketson asked out loud in court.

Ricketson has been held in jail since his arrest in June last year after he flew a drone over a rally held by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was disbanded months later.

The CNRP's dissolution paved the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen to win a clean sweep of all parliamentary seats in July's national election.

Ricketson's lawyer Kong Sam Onn told reporters outside the court that he plans to request a royal pardon from the Cambodian king.

Earlier this week, 14 opposition legislators and activists jailed before the election were released after sending apology letters to Hun Sen, which the premier said he sent on to the monarch.

The family of the 69-year-old filmmaker hopes he will be released soon.

"This is absolutely devastating for James and for us, and for his family, and his friends, and everyone. It's been such a long hard process and to get this result is just devastating. I don't know ... we need some time to get our thoughts together and work out what to do next. Obviously we won't be giving up," said his son Jesse.

The trial "exposed everything that's wrong with the Cambodian judicial system", according to Human Rights Watch's Phil Robertson who decried the court's findings.

Robertson said the Australian was used as a "scapegoat" by the government to crack down on political opposition.

He also criticised what he said was inaction by the Australian government in "failing to publicly and consistently challenge this ludicrous charade and demand Ricketson's immediate and unconditional release".

Ricketson has faced legal problems in the past. He was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2014 for allegedly threatening to broadcast allegations that a church working in Cambodia had sold children.

Two years later, he was fined after a court found him guilty of defaming an anti-paedophile NGO by accusing the group of manipulating witnesses. </s> PHNOM PENH, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A Cambodian court sentenced an Australian filmmaker to six years in prison after finding him guilty of espionage on Friday.

James Ricketson, 69, was arrested last June after he was photographed flying a drone above a political rally organised by the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Speaking in court after the verdict, Ricketson expressed disbelief. "Which country was I conducting espionage for?" he asked. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Michael Perry) </s> PHNOM PENH (REUTERS) - A Cambodian court sentenced an Australian filmmaker to six years in prison on Friday (Aug 31) after finding him guilty of espionage for flying a drone over an opposition party's political rally.

James Ricketson, 69, was arrested last June after he was photographed flying the drone above the rally organised by the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and staged ahead of a communal election.

Ricketson was charged with espionage, although it remains unclear for whom he was spying. His family called the court sentence an "absolute tragedy".

"The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has decided to convict James Ricketson and sentences him to six years in prison for espionage and collecting information that is harmful to the nation between December 2010 and June 2017," Judge Seng Leang said.

Ricketson, who has spent more than a year behind bars after his bail was denied, appeared in court wearing a pink prison uniform and holding a copy of the spy-triller book The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson.

Speaking in court after the verdict, Ricketson expressed disbelief. "Which country was I conducting espionage for?" he asked.

"James is almost 70 and is not in good health, our family is very scared about what will happen to him in there if things take a turn for the worst," Ricketson's family said in a statement following the verdict, referring to Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison where Ricketson has been jailed.

"James is not a spy. James loves Cambodia and the Cambodian people. He is a filmmaker and a humanitarian," the family said.

During hearings that began last week, the prosecution argued that Ricketson's work had damaged Cambodia's reputation on the world stage.

Ricketson has been visiting Cambodia for more than 20 years, producing documentaries about the country and its people.

Ricketson's son, Jesse Ricketson, said: "It's very difficult to imagine what the future holds now for my dad. I'm absolutely terrified for him."

In a letter to Cambodia's long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen last month, Ricketson apologised for statements to local media that were disrespectful to Hun Sen.

Ricketson's arrest came amid a wider crackdown on freedom of expression by Hun Sen's government and his Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

The CPP last month claimed victory following a controversial general election which was largely unopposed.

Rights groups said the July 29 vote was neither free nor fair, given the absence of a significant challenger to Hun Sen, who has ruled for 33 years. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy was tried in absentia Friday for allegedly conspiring to incite chaos in the country through false documents posted on his Facebook page, a crime punishable by up to 17 years in prison.

Two other opposition members who maintained Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page also were tried on the same charges – conspiracy to falsify public documents, inciting chaos and using fake documents. The two fled Cambodia in August 2015 to avoid arrest. Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, lives in exile in France.

After a brief hearing that included statements by the prosecutor and the defense attorney, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court adjourned the trial and set the verdict for Dec. 22.

Sam Rainsy’s troubles stem from a post by a member of his party, Sen. Hong Sok Hour, in August 2015 criticizing a 1979 Cambodia-Vietnam border treaty, which implied that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government was Vietnam’s puppet. Hong Sok Hour posted on Sam Rainsy’s page, and was subsequently arrested and tried.

To support his accusation on Facebook he attached a map of the border and a disputed copy of the treaty that said the two countries had agreed to “dissolve” their border. Defense lawyers said the word “dissolve” was a mistranslation of the word “redefine,” but he was convicted last month and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Friday, prosecutor Sieng Sok urged the court to punish Sam Rainsy and his two colleagues, saying they were part of the conspiracy by allowing his Facebook page to be used by Hong Sok Hour. The convicted senator appeared as a defense witness Friday and testified that Sam Rainsy had nothing to do with the post.

Defense lawyer Sam Sokong told the court that Sam Rainsy was in the United States when the post was made and knew nothing about it. He said the page was operated by other officials.

The trial is the latest in a series of cases against opposition leaders in what is generally seen as an attempt to disrupt their organizing efforts ahead of local elections next June. The next general election is not until the middle of 2018, but holding power at the local level is an advantage when national polls are held.

Sam Rainsy is the most prominent target of these prosecutions, and has been in exile since November last year to avoid a jail term on a conviction that he had thought was covered by a royal pardon. There are several other cases pending against him. The government last month banned his re-entry from abroad, making it more difficult for him to fight the charges even if he chooses to return.

He has also been found guilty of defamation for alleging that a senior government official sought to inflate Hun Sen’s online popularity by buying “likes” for his Facebook page.

Hun Sen has been Cambodia’s leader for three decades. But in a general election in 2013, his grip on power was shaken. </s> Australian documentary filmmaker James Ricketson was Friday sentenced to six years in jail in Cambodia. He was found guilty of espionage.

Ricketson has been held in prison for the past 14 months. During the seven day trial he denied the charges.

Prosecutors said that he was working with the political opposition to the country’s leader Hun Sen, and had worked with a foreign power.

On his way back to jail, after receiving the verdict, Ricketson was heard shouting “Who am I spying for?” That question was never answered in court and Ricketson repeatedly insisted that his work is not political.

“Since he arrived in Cambodia, the accused person has been collecting political, social and economic information about Cambodia and sending it to a foreign state,” prosecutor Sieng Sok said. “He has kept collecting this information for 22 years, until the day he was arrested. The accused person was using his journalism job and helping poor Cambodians just to hide his real work, but in fact he is a spy and has been filming at the sites of the country’s security forces.”

Ricketson was arrested after flying a camera-equipped drone over a rally organized by the Cambodian National Rescue Party. The CNRP was abolished on government orders last year. Prime Minister, Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party in July won all 125 seats in a parliamentary election.

Australian foreign minister, Marise Payne said the Australian government will provide Ricketson with full consular assistance. “Mr Ricketson is subject to legal proceedings under Cambodian law and must now consider his response to the court’s decision using the avenues open to him.”
A Cambodian opposition senator is sentenced to 7 years in prison for a post on Facebook.