Australian film-maker jailed for espionage
An Australian film-maker arrested after flying a drone to photograph a Cambodian opposition party rally last year was convicted of spying and sentenced to six years in prison yesterday.
James Ricketson, pictured, faced up to 10 years in prison on the charge of endangering national security. Almost two dozen jailed critics or opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government had been freed in recent weeks, raising hopes of leniency in Ricketson’s case.
Prosecutors have indicated he was suspected of working with the opposition party or had worked directly for a foreign power, though that country was never specified in court. The charge against him was tantamount in legal terms to espionage. As the prison van left after the judges delivered the verdict, Ricketson shouted the same question he often raised throughout his trial: ‘‘Who am I spying for?’’
Before hearing the verdict, he said that based on the evidence and facts in the case, he should be set free. Ricketson, 69, repeatedly insisted he had no political agenda and his work making documentary films was journalistic in nature. Character witnesses testified to his film-making work and financial generosity to several poor Cambodians.
The evidence presented against Ricketson appeared thin, but Cambodia’s courts are considered highly politicised and their rulings often tightly align with the ruling party’s agenda. A handful of personal emails seized from Ricketson suggested he was sympathetic to the country’s political opposition and critical of Hun Sen’s government, but revealed no sensitive or secret information. Several of his photos and videos showed security forces on duty, but only in publicly viewable situations.
‘‘Since he arrived in Cambodia, the accused person has been collecting political, social and economic information about Cambodia and sending it to a foreign state,’’ prosecutor Sieng Sok said in his closing argument on Wednesday. ‘‘He has kept collecting this information for 22 years, until the day he was arrested. The accused person was using his journalism job and helping poor Cambodians just to hide his real work, but in fact he is a spy and has been filming at the sites of the country’s security forces.’’
The prosecutors had indicated Ricketson was also suspected of working with the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party.