Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Rainsy to seek video audience with court in defamation case

Rainsy to seek video audience with court in defamation case

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy gestures to supporters from the window of Phnom Penh Municipal Court in 2014.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy gestures to supporters from the window of Phnom Penh Municipal Court in 2014. Hong Menea

Rainsy to seek video audience with court in defamation case

Self-exiled CNRP president Sam Rainsy yesterday said he would ask the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to allow him to testify via video conference in a defamation case brought by Prime Minister Hun Sen, an idea quickly dismissed by a court official.

Rainsy has been summonsed to appear before court on Friday for “slandering” the government, and by extension Hun Sen, after he used social media last month to call murdered political activist Kem Ley’s death a case of “state-backed terrorism”.

Taking to Facebook again, Rainsy yesterday said he would like to use videoconferencing to give the “reasons” for his claims, likening his situation to certain witnesses at the Khmer Rouge tribunal who have been allowed to do the same.

“Even a ‘suspect’ – who must be considered innocent as long as he is not declared a ‘culprit’ yet – must be heard in any possible and legitimate way,” Rainsy said, via email. “I am telling my lawyer now and will expose the clues and evidence when facing the court.”

However, court spokesman Ly Sophanna said Rainsy’s request was not viable because he was a suspect, not a witness, and that Rainsy would have to provide evidence in person or through his lawyer.

Rainsy’s lawyer, Sam Sokong, said his client was only a suspect, and not charged yet, so in this investigatory phase, the court could legally allow videoconferencing.

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