Former Adhoc staffer Chakrya found guilty

press conference gleaned from the internet.

“We have no more evidence to produce and just wanted to confirm that the comments of t he suspect, v ia t he media, a f fected t he pla i nt i f fs,” he said.

Chakr ya’s attor ney, Kea Sophal, however, questioned the wives of the two villagers, who testified that the rights staffer was only highlighting the unjust detention of their husbands. He also called into question the validity of the plaintiffs’ purported evidence.

“The proof from the plaintiff is not strong, because it is just taken from social media links,” Sophal said. “And in the recording, my client has not accused the court officials of committing corruption.”

Nonetheless, presiding judge Khy Chhai in his ruling implied that there was a blanket ban on criticism of the courts – an institution that for years has been roundly criticised for its lack of independence.

“We cannot accuse courts of wrongly implementing t he law; only the higher court has this right,” Chhai said yesterday. “He [ Cha k r ya] has no right to use a press conference like that.”

Following a four-hour trial, Chhai found Chakrya guilty under articles 305, 311, 312 and 522 of the Criminal Code.

As he left the court, Chakrya said he had no hope for justice given the court’s lack of independence.

“It is like you want to drink clean water. If the pond is muddy, you cannot hope to get clean water to drink,” he said.

Both the International Commission of Jurists and Amnest y I nter nat iona l yesterday described Chakrya’s sentence as an attack on the rights of civil society and human rights workers.

“Today’s conviction of Ny Chakrya is a brazen assault on

Today’s conviction of Ny Chakrya is a brazen assault on the right to freedom of expression

the right to freedom of expression, which protects criticism of officials, including judicial officials,” said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights, on behalf of 35 civil society organisations, also condemned the conviction, calling it an “escalating crackdown on independent voices”.

Chakrya – and four Adhoc staffers – are currently in pretrial detention on unrelated accusations of bribing the alleged mistress of acting CNRP president Kem Sokha.