Ministry to moot 321 pardons, reductions

THE Ministry of Justice on Wednesday announced that 321 inmates are seeking pardons or sentence reductions ahead of Khmer New Year in an annual tradition that typically includes a prisoner release.

It wasn’t immediately known if any political prisoners were on the list, drawn from those incarcerated at 20 provincial prisons and four detention centres, according to Soch Sophanara, deputy chief of the ministry’s prosecution department.

No one convicted of a “heinous” crime was included, Sophanara said.

The committee considers sentence reductions for those who have served at least a third of their sentences and pardons for inmates who have completed two-thirds of their prison term.

“We don’t look into the request of those who commit repeat crimes, [or] heinous crimes with big sentences,” he said.

The Ministry’s approval of pardon pleas has come under scrutiny. The pardons committee does not immediately reveal the names of approved clemency requests, but they are published months later in the Royal Gazette.

Last year’s list, released in June, disclosed that King Norodom Sihamoni had signed off on four pardons for convicts sentenced for theft or murder and sentence reductions for 33 rapists.

Sophanara said the committee only looked at relevant documents of the cases and was unsure if any political prisoners were in the list.

“In the list, there is no mention of such classifications. If they request, the committee will look at their names, crimes, rehabilitation process and relevant documents,” he said.