Border Case

Phnom Penh Municipal Court has finished its investigation into the criminal charges facing opposition leader Sam Rainsy, lawyers said Thursday. In March, the court charged the Sam Rainsy Party president with falsifying public documents and spreading disinformation after he released maps that he said were evidence of Vietnamese border encroachment. In a letter dated June 11, investigating judge Oeung Sieng informed Sam Rainsy, who is currently abroad, that investigations in the case had been completed. “We have decided to close down the investigations,” the letter stated. Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, Choung Choungy, said he met with Oeung Sieng on Tuesday, but that he did not know when his client’s trial would be held. Although investigations have been closed, he said, the judge can reopen them if requested to do so by the plaintiff or the defendant. Sam Rainsy, who has already been sentenced to two years in jail for uprooting border posts, faces an additional 18 years in prison if convicted on the new charges. Deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun, who is in charge of the case, could not be reached Thursday.