Trial of Cambodian reporters who used to work for US begins
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The espionage trial of two Cambodian journalists who formerly worked for a U.S. government-funded radio station began Friday, almost two years after their arrests.
Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin testified at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to defend themselves against the charge that they had undermined national security by supplying information to a foreign state, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Both men acknowledged in court that they had covered news events after leaving the employ of Radio Free Asia, but they denied any wrongdoing.
Rights groups have characterized their case as a flagrant attack on press freedom.
They were arrested in November 2017 during a crackdown on the media and political opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, ahead of the July 2018 general election. Radio Free Asia had closed its Phnom Penh bureau in September 2017, citing government intimidation of the media, which it said had reached an “unprecedented level.”
By the end of 2017, the government had closed more than two dozen radio stations, some of which had rebroadcast RFA’s programs. The English-language The Cambodia Daily newspaper also was forced to shut down, leaving almost all critical voices inside the country hushed.
RFA is funded by an independent U.S. government agency and says its mission is “to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press.” Its programs are transmitted by radio and television and also carried online.
RFA spokesman Rohit Mahajan said in an email that the two face “unsubstantiated charges, which never should have been brought forward in the first place.
“The Phnom Penh Court Municipal Court can rectify this unnecessary and troubling situation by dismissing the case and all charges against them without delay,” he said.
Police initially said the two had been detained for running an unlicensed karaoke studio. But they were later accused of setting up a studio for RFA, which they deny, and were charged with espionage.
Uon Chhin testified that his contract had ended and he was building a karaoke studio when he was arrested, but denied allegations that it was meant for the secret use of his former employer. He said he sent the video clips at the request of his former boss, and they concerned openly available news, not state secrets. He also said he had never known or had any contact with any agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Yeang Sothearin also admitted working on two stories after leaving RFA’s employ. He said he didn’t realize it would get him in legal trouble, because it was simply news already known to the public.
The judge expressed skepticism over his action, questioning why he would send information when Radio Free Asia had already shut down its office in Cambodia.
Speaking to reporters after the court session, Uon Chhin said he always hopes the courts will drop the charges “and give me back my full freedom.”
LONDON — The temperature’s dropping but Europe’s troubles aren’t over: A record-busting heat wave gave way Friday to thunderstorms and hailstorms, bringing the Tour de France to a dramatic halt and causing trouble at British airports and beyond on one of the most hectic travel days of the year.
In addition, travelers at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports faced delays because air traffic controllers grounded flights over a technical problem.
It marked the second day of travel disruptions in European capitals after one of the hottest days in memory, when many places in Western Europe saw temperatures soar beyond 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Compounding that, the weekend is a big travel moment across Europe as families head off for their summer holidays now that schools have broken up for the academic year.
After several hours of flight restrictions over U.K. airspace Friday, the national air traffic controller NATS said it had fixed the technical issue and would be able to safely increase traffic flow. “Weather is continuing to cause significant unrelated disruption across the country and more widely across Europe, which has further complicated today’s operation,” NATS said in a statement.
In France, suffocating heat turned into slippery storms Friday — including a hailstorm on the Tour de France route in the Alps that was so sudden and violent that organizers ordered a stop to the world’s premier cycling event.
As riders careened down hairpin turns after mounting a 9,000-foot peak, a storm lashed the valley below. A snowplow worked desperately to clear the route of slush, but organizers deemed it too dangerous to continue.
Weather almost never stops the three-week race, and the decision came on a day of high-drama in which race leader Julian Alaphilippe lost his top spot and accompanying yellow jersey just ahead of Sunday’s finale. British rail commuters were also facing delays after the heat wave prompted Network Rail to impose speed restrictions in case the tracks buckled. Engineers from the company have been working to get the network back to normal after the track temperatures soared to up to 68 F more than the air temperature.
“With the railway being made of metal and moving parts, the sustained high temperatures took their toll in places,” said Phil James of Network Rail. “Everything was done to keep trains moving where possible, and last night hundreds of staff were out fixing the damage and repairing the railway ready for today.”
Passengers using Eurostar services to and from Paris were also facing “severe disruption” due to overhead power line problems in the French capital, which on Thursday recorded its hottest day ever with the temperature rising to 108.7 F.
Britain, along with much of Western Europe, endured potentially its highest temperature ever on Thursday. The country’s weather service said a provisional temperature of 101.7 F was recorded at Cambridge University Botanic Garden in eastern England, which if confirmed would be the highest ever recorded in the U.K. The existing record for the U.K. — 101.3 F — was set in August 2003.