Boeung Kak activist Vanny’s sentence upheld
security forces violently dispersed the crowd.
Three Boeung Kak residents – Ngeth Khun, Kong Chantha and Bo Chhorvy – were in court as witnesses, and erupted upon hearing the verdict, with Vanny herself yelling at court officials in between tears.
“Unjust! Unjust! Put me in jail if you think this would bring benefit to the nation. You arrest female land [rights] victims in jail. Today, I am in jail; the next day, you would be in jail,” she yelled, as she was forcefully put into a prison van.
Upon receiving word of the verdict, around 50 supporters outside the court burst into tears and began chanting and yelling insults at the court, with some of them starting an impromptu “cursing ceremony” involving incense sticks and lotus stems. Lake resident Khun could be seen smashing coconuts and lotus flowers as she yelled “Second Pol Pot! Second Pol Pot!”
Vanny has been in jail since last August, when she was convicted and sentenced to six days in prison for “public insult” while conducting a cursing ceremony as part of the civil society-initiated “Black Monday” protests. On top of the case addressed in yesterday’s hearing, two others have been resurrected – one of which has not yet gone to trial, and another in which Vanny and three others have been sentenced to six months in prison for a similar protest outside City Hall.
Both plaintiffs skipped court throughout the trial, denying the defence the opportunity to cross-examine them.
Prosecutor Sar Yos Thavrak, however, insisted Vanny was in the wrong for having gone to the premier’s home in the first place. “You stormed into his house. This is your mistake,” he said during the first hearing.
Following yesterday’s verdict, Human Rights Watch (HRW ) released a statement asking for the quashing of charges against Vanny and her immediate release, and highlighted a lack of evidence and witnesses in the prosecution’s case.
“The case against Tep Vanny is a blatant misuse of prosecutorial power to punish her for her peaceful activism,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW. “This prosecution is intended to silence Tep Vanny and intimidate other Cambodian activists.”
Rhona Smith, the UN special rapporteur on human rights to Cambodia – who is on a 10-day visit to the country – said the ruling was not “especially surprising” and that the judicial process needed to be strengthened to ensure rulings are based on evidence.
“I think with the court process as a whole, there are many issues in which clarity on evidentiary requirements could be helpful across a range of cases, and not just that one,” she said.
Standing outside the court, Licadho’s Am Sam Ath also questioned the evidence used to paint Vanny as the instigator, saying that if she had in fact given orders, then the people who followed them should be prosecuted as well.