Back in court: Sokha’s treason trial resumes after Covid-19 caused suspension

Back in court: Sokha’s treason trial resumes after Covid-19 caused suspension Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday resumed hearing the case of former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) president Kem Sokha who is accused of colluding with a foreign country to topple the government through a colour revolution. Presiding Judge Koy Sao said that Sokha, 67, was charged with “Conspiracy with Foreign Power” under Article 443 of the Criminal Code. If convicted, he faces a jail term of 15 to 30 years. Sokha was arrested on September 3, 2017. He said Sokha’s arrest followed a video clip which shows him saying on December 8, 2013 in Australia that the US had been helping him to push for a regime change. Judge Sao noted that since January 15, 2020 until yesterday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court had conducted 26 hearings of the case but these were later temporarily suspended due to the outbreak of Covid-19. During yesterday’s hearing, Sokha urged the court to speed up his trial and finish it as soon as possible so that he would be cleared and have full freedom and could participate in politics. He said that the court should drop the charge against him as a step towards real political reconciliation for national unity. “I would like to state my own position on this case as follows: Firstly I support the Royal Government’s measures and activities in preventing Covid-19 which is a global concern. I, myself, have also participated in the government’s measures and activities to help our people,” Sokha told the court. “Secondly, I support calls for the speeding up of my court case so that it can be completed as soon as possible because I have already discussed it with the government leader (Prime Minister) who told me to clear my court case first so that I will become eligible to participate in politics.” Government attorney Ky Tech speaks to reporters at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday. Facebook “Thirdly, I would like to ask the court to try me fairly in accordance with the laws and issue the right verdict so that there will be no complaints afterwards,” he added. One of Sokha’s lawyers Ang Oudom argued over the long delay in the hearing, saying this postponement had affected his client’s rights and freedom in receiving a fair trial and justice. Oudom said that it also affected the opportunities for him and other lawyers in Sokha’s legal team to take up other cases. He also questioned the appointment of three prosecutors for the hearing and claimed that the submission of seven documents by the court deputy prosecutor violated the laws. Oudom also complained that during yesterday’s hearing the prosecution team sat at the same table as the defence lawyers which creates suspicion over the conduct of the hearing. In response, deputy prosecutor Plong Sophal, who is leading the prosecution team, said there is no law or article that stipulates or limits the number of prosecutors to appear in the courtroom. Sophal said that according to Articles 39 and 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecutor represents and stands for the victims and defends the laws. There is no mention about how many should be present in a hearing. He noted that more than one prosecutor could participate if a case is complex. Sophal also said there is nothing wrong in seating prosecutors at same table as the defence lawyers because both sides have different roles to play. On the reason why the trial is taking so long, he said: “In this case, if the accused Kem Sokha would

 have admitted committing the crime as accused, the court can issue the verdict to finish his case. But if he does not admit the crime, the court has to continue discussing and studying all the documents related to the case.” The Royal Government’s Lawyers team leader Ky Tech told the court that compared with other accused, Sokha could be considered lucky because the judges’ council had allowed him to sit on a padded chair which was more comfortable that the seats of the lawyers, deputy prosecutors and the judges. He said that hearing’s delay was also because his lawyers always raised unnecessary objections which drag on the case. Tech requested the judges’ council to replay the video clip of Sokha’s 2001 interview with Australia’s CBN TV in which he is shown saying that he was following orders from the US to overthrow the Cambodian government just like the way it was done in the former Yugoslavia. However, Sokha and his four lawyers opposed this, saying that it is time consuming. “I am not afraid about the replaying of my video clip again and again in the hearing but I think that it goes back and forth, repetitively and wastes time,” said Sokha. “If it is for the public gallery, I think that the public can find the video on Youtube or the social media.” Judge Sao overruled he objection and ordered the court’s IT office to replay Sokhs’s video clip until the end of yesterday’s hearing at 11.55 am. The hearing will continue on January 25.