Hun Sen uses the biased court to silence critics, including the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper

(Photo: RFA)

01 June 2009

By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer
The Cambodian government sued the “Khmer Machas Srok” newspaper with another complain: defamation. The newspaper was sued once already for publication of alleged false information accusing a number of high-ranking officials surrounding Sok An, Cambodia’s [very powerful] vice-PM and minister of the Council of ministers, of being involved in corruption.
Suong Chan Thorn, the government lawyer who represents the plaintiffs, told RFA that the additional complain was brought up when he went to clarify the court recently.
Suong Chan Thorn said: “We still preserve the stance of our lawsuit that we brought up, they are defamation and publication of false information, and we demand compensation according to the law.”
He indicated that publication of false information is a criminal lawsuit, whereas the defamation case is a civil lawsuit. He is asking for 10 million riels ($2,500) in compensation.
Regarding the additional complain, Hang Chakra, the editor of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, reacted by saying that these lawsuits were brought to discourage him and to silence critics and those who express their opinion.
Hang Chakra plans to go to the Phnom Penh municipal court to clarify this case on 03 June as summoned: “We saw that lawyer Suong Chan Thorn highlighted words [published] in my newspaper, and he used these to sue me. I consider this as an act of political intimidation, this is not a normal case.”
The lawsuits were brought up after Khmer Machas Srok published a number of articles in April and May under the title: “Hun Sen breaks up the nest of bad and corrupt government officials around Sok An”, and also under the title of: “Several Pro-Sok An government officials face removal from their position.”
Pen Samithik, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said: “This means that the [government] could sue or it could ask the news media to make a correction.”
Chan Sovet, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights group, commented: “I think that the additional lawsuit constitutes a threat on journalists.”
It is noted that the lawsuits against the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper are brought up at the same time that SRP MP Mu Sochua is subjected to another lawsuit from Hun Sen for defamation as well. Mrs. Mu Sochua will go to court on 03 June to provide clarifications in her case.
Furthermore, SRP MP Ho Vann is also sued for defamation by 22 high-ranking army officers in Hun Sen’s regime. He will go to court to clarify his case on 05 June.
Human rights activists and organization observe that these successive lawsuits against the opposition are a mechanism set up by Hun Sen’s regime to use the court to silence its critics.