Pursat Villagers To Seek Hun Sen’s Intervention

A small group of Pursat province villagers who live near the Thai border are travelling to Phnom Penh to seek the intervention of Prime Minister Hun Sen after accusing local officials of intimidation in a land dispute.

KR Tribunal mum on investigating judge’s future

Khmer Rouge tribunal judge, Marcel Lemonde, is expected to rule next month on whether to begin one of the most complex war crime trials ever prosecuted, but rumours are rife that he will retire after the completion of Case 002 possibly to be replaced by his little know German understudy Siegfried Blunk. However, a UN spokesman, staff in the judge’s office and his Cambodian Counterpart You Bunleng have stated that no official announcement has been made to them. Many are concerned that pressing ahead with cases three and four may be complicated without the presence of an international judge after Judge Bunleng backed out of investigations opposed by the government although he promised to revisit the matter in September.

As appeal looms, no summons for jailed journalist

With his case apparently due before the Court of Appeal today, jailed journalist Ros Sokhet, says he has still not received a summons and is unaware if his case is delayed or if he is to be sentenced in absentia. Mr Sokhet is almost 10 months into a two-year prison sentence for sending text messages to television personality and well-known Cambodian People’s Party supporter Soy Sopheap asking whether he extorted money from Ke Dara, the jailed wife of an adviser to the national assembly. Mr Sopheap denies pressing charges saying the action was taken by the Interior Ministry which declined to comment on the case. Mr Sokhet has indicated he is unlikely to take further action if his appeal fails, citing the fact he has already completed almost half his term.

Prosecutors seek to indict remaining KR leaders

Prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday submitted their final arguments in the court’s second case, asking that four senior Khmer Rouge leaders be indicted and tried for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes under Cambodian law. The co-prosecutors indicated that the charges would be sought on the basis of joint criminal enterprise; effectively joint liability. The prosecution have requested that Duch, who has already been convicted on separate charges, be removed from the case. However, the prosecution will also appeal over the relatively lenient sentence imposed on Duch last month, which leaves him with 19 years left to serve, on the grounds that a number of crimes against humanity were subsumed into crimes of persecution and torture rather than penalized separately. The defence is understood to be launching an appeal challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

100 Garment Workers Faint in K Cham Factory

More than 100 garment workers at a Kompong Cham province factory fainted at work between Thursday and Saturday, the factory's doctor and a union representative said yesterday.

Man Arrested Over Gang Rape of Disabled Girl

A 19-year-old man was arrested yesterday in Pursat province for taking part in the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old disabled girl, while two other suspects remain at large. After his arrest yesterday morning, Phun Tith, 19, confessed to gang reaping the 17-year-old along with two suspects in their early 20s near Koh Keo pagoda in Bakan district's Trapaing Chong commune on Friday night, district police chiefs Pen Tum said.

KRT Opens Hearing of Case 002

KRT Denies Civil Parties an Extrended Deadline

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal on Wednesday rejected a request for an extended deadline for nearly 600 civil parties to show proof of their claims of suffering, according to a person briefed on the matter. The Court this month appointed lawyers to nearly 800 people who are seeking recognition as victims of the Khmer Rouge regime but did so more than a month after a deadline had passed for them to provide evidence of their claims.

Asean Called On to Help Solve Border Dispute

Cambodia on Saturday formally requested Asean's assistance to help solve its long-running border conflict with Thailnad over disputed territory near World Heritage-listed Preah Vihear temple. In a letter sent to Phnom Penh Gia Khmiem, the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam, which currently chairs Asean, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said bilateral negotiations over the disputed territory had come to a halt.

60 Jailed in Land Disputes Nationalwide, Data Show

More than 60 villagers in nine provinces were being detained or had been convicted in relation to land disputes by mid-July this year, according to monitoring data released Yesterday by the human rights group Licadho, which said most of the detainees had been behind bars since last year.

60 Workers Allegedly Fired For Attempting to Organize

KC Gecin Enterprises, a Phnom Penh manufacturer of concrete pillars, reportedly fired about 60 workers on Friday for attempting to found a union, former workers and a union representative said. The workers, who say they were dismissed without adequate explanation, planned to protest today at the company's main office in Meanchey district's Chak Angre Loeu commune, according to Sok Kin, deputy president of the Building and wood Workers Trad Union.

Interior Ministry to Invenstigate NGO in P Vihear

The Ministry of interior will investigation claims from villagers that an NGO in Preah Vihear provine, headed by a one star general, violated the rights of villagers, ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said Friday.

Abhisit Said to Caution Hun Sen On Medai Claims

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has warned Prime Minster Hun Sen to be Careful about how he interprets information he receives through the media, a Thai newspaper reported Friday. Mr Abhisit said Hun Sen Should be careful about interpreting information on such sensitive issues through the media, "according to English-language newspaper The Bangkok Post.

Bulldozing Raises Villagers' Concerns in Kampot

A Company with a paper tree concession has begun bulldozing humdreds of hectares of land in kampot province's Chhuk district that are claimed by the families of 400 former Khmer Rouge soldiers, a villager representative said Thursday, though a company Representative denied the concession touched the villagers'land.

Court upholds Swede's Child Sex Conviction

The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the conviction of a 62-year-old Swedish national for having sex with a 9-year-old boy and committing indecent acts. Johan Abrahim Escori was found guilty in January of abusing the same buy twice, once in Preah Sihanouk city and again in Phnom Penh, and sentenced him to six and half years in jail and ordered him to pay a $1000 fine.

Lake Residents Asked For Ownership Papers

Resident of the area around Phnom Penh's Boeng Kak lake who face eviction as a development project moves forward, were told by local officials on Wednesday to prepare legal documentation of home ownership in order to receive compensation.

Hun Sen Keeps Heat on Abhisit Over Misquotes

Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his verbal assault against Thailand yesterday, criticizing Thai Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva for denying he had threatened to use the military to solve a border dispute near Preah Vihear temple.

Arbitration Council Merits Praise-Now Imagine Functioning Courts

In his letter to The Cambodia Daily ("Arbitration Can Foster Cambodia's Industrial-Relations Image,"Aug 10,p30), Professor Mom Seilakboth noted that Cambodia's Arbitration Council-created to resolve labor disputes-was seen as "corruption free, independent and transparent. He Posited that the existence and use of this mechanism good reputation for international buyers and help attract foreign investment.

P Vihear Villagers Claim Abuse by Gereral's NGO

Residents of a social land concession in Preah Vihear province yesterday said their community had suffered extortion, abuse and even rape at the hands of the NGO that runs it, an outfit headed by a one star general. The Land Management Ministry said yesterday the NGO still lacked permission even to operate the concession. When a resident of the concession-556 hectares in Choam Ksan district's Kantuot commune-allegedly reped Khim Khon's 13-year-old daughter last year, Ms Khon, a community resident, said NGO workers detained and beat her when they found out she planned to file a complained with local police.

R Keo Residents Should Be Relocated, NGO Says

Phnom Penh authorities' plans for the hundreds of Russei Keo district families facing eviction from a Tonle Sap riverbank remained unclear yesterday. However a human rights worker said that under current government policy, they deserved some from of accommodation.