Channy Verdict

Further developments concerning this item: Judge Ney Thol has handed down a verdict against Cheam Channy of the Sam Rainsy Party.
The result is seven years jail from a half-day trail.

The judge prohibited Channy's lawyers from calling witnesses to testify on his behalf and cross-examining all of the prosecution witnesses. Although the prosecution accused Channy of creating illegal "armed forces," no evidence was presented in court that anyone connected to the SRP's Committee No. 14 had weapons or had plotted or committed any act of violence.

This report shows Human Rights Watch giving some strong criticism of the process.

The trial of Cheam Channy comes on the heels of another controversial trial, in which two men were convicted on August 1 on charges of murdering Cambodian union leader Chea Vichea without any eyewitness testimony or forensic evidence.
"These two trials, within a week of each other, bode extremely badly for the upcoming Khmer Rouge tribunal, in which Cambodian judges will play a key role alongside foreign ones," said [Brad] Adams [Asia director of Human Rights Watch]. "The current state of the judiciary simply does not justify any faith that Cambodian judges involved in the Khmer Rouge tribunal will be able to act professionally and independently of the government."

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