Australian jailed for espionage in Cambodia
01 September, 2018
An Australian filmmaker arrested after flying a drone to photograph a Cambodian opposition party rally last year was convicted of spying and sentenced to six years in prison Friday.
James Ricketson had faced up to 10 years in prison. Almost two dozen jailed critics or opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government had been freed in recent weeks following a sweeping ruling party election victory, which had raised hopes of leniency in Ricketson’s case.
Ricketson has been detained without bail since his arrest in June last year.
Prosecutors have indicated he was suspected of working with the opposition party or had worked directly for a foreign power, though that country was never specified in court. The charge against him, endangering national security, was tantamount in legal terms to espionage.
As the prison van left after the panel of judges delivered the verdict, Ricketson shouted to reporters the same question he often raised throughout his trial: “Who am I spying for?’”
Kem Sokha’s detention extended
A court in Cambodia on Thursday extended by six months the pre-trial detention of Kem Sokha, the leader of the now-dissolved main opposition party who already has been held for a year on a treason charge.
One of Kem Sokha’s lawyers, Chan Chen, said the court ruled in a closed-door hearing that his continued detention was necessary for national security and further investigation.