Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Court hears appeal of Tep Vanny, activists

Court hears appeal of Tep Vanny, activists

Tep Vanny escorted by officials after her bail request was denied in Appeals Court yesterday in Phnom Penh.
Tep Vanny escorted by officials after her bail request was denied in Appeals Court yesterday in Phnom Penh. Heng Chivoan

Court hears appeal of Tep Vanny, activists

Tep Vanny and three fellow Boeung Kak activists yesterday maintained their innocence and requested all charges be dropped as they contested their six-month prison sentences handed down over a 2011 clash between their community and security personnel.

The four - Vanny, Bor Chorvy, Kong Chantha and Heng Mom - were sentenced on September 19 on charges of insulting and obstructing public officials. The case had lay fallow for some five years before being resurrected following Vanny’s August 15 arrest for conducting a “cursing ceremony” as part of the so-called Black Monday campaign.

Vanny yesterday told the court that she and the other activists - all of whom but Vanny are currently free on bail - had been arrested in 2011 almost immediately after arriving at the Municipal Hall to submit a petition about their land dispute.

“They detained me overnight, although I had not used any violence,” she said.

Neither of the two plaintiffs - Daun Penh security guards Hor Hoeurn and Sorm Rotha - were present or available for cross-examination yesterday. Hoeurn is also a plaintiff in another case against Vanny involving allegations of violence in 2013.

Prosecutor Sak Yuos Thavarak argued for upholding the judgment, while defence lawyer Sam Sokunthea, from human rights group Licadho, demanded to drop the charges based on insufficient evidence.

Adhoc observer Soeng Senkorona also said he hoped the first judgment would be overturned. “The evidence . . . is not enough,” he said.

A verdict is due on February 27.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LEONIE KIJEWSKI

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide

  • PM urges end to ‘baseless’ international Ream base accusations

    Prime Minister Hun Sen urges an end to “baseless” foreign accusations surrounding the development of the Kingdom’s Ream Naval Base, as the US has consistently suggested that the base is being expanded to accommodate a Chinese military presence. Hun Sen renewed his calls while

  • Almost 9K tourists see equinox sunrise at Angkor Wat

    Nearly 9,000 visitors – including 2,226 international tourists – gathered at Angkor Wat on March 21 to view the spring equinox sunrise, according to a senior official of the Siem Reap provinical tourism department. Ngov Seng Kak, director of the department, said a total of 8,726 people visited Angkor Wat to