Beehive Radio director Mam Sonando flashes the ‘peace’ sign at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court earlier this year. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post |
Thursday, 29 November 2012
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post
The wife of Mam Sonando, imprisoned director of Beehive Radio and
director of the Association of Democrats, appealed to the government and
the court yesterday with a renewed call for leniency for her husband in
the wake of US President Barack Obama’s offer of support last week.
Din Phannara said that she was delighted to hear that Obama raised the
conviction against her husband during a bilateral talk on the sidelines
of ASEAN with Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“What
Obama picked up reveals an authenticity that my husband is not involved
in the crime for which he was convicted by the court at all, which is
why I would like the government and the court to cancel the allegation,” she said.
She added that she is still hopeful and confident that the government as
well as the court system will find justice for her husband at last.
“I
hope the Appeal Court will take the case of my husband as soon as it has
received the legal documents from the municipal court,” she said.
On October 1, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court handed down a sentence of
20 years and a fine of 10 million riels ($2,500) on insurrection charges
to the 71-year-old broadcaster.
The conviction has been widely denounced by rights groups and donors
alike who have termed Sonando a political prisoner, and say the
allegations were falsified to punish him for politically-sensitive
reporting.
This is his third imprisonment.
During the bilateral talks with between Hun Sen and Obama, the premier
insisted that there are no political prisoners in Cambodia – a claim he
has since reiterated in public speeches.
Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said that the
government is unable to facilitate the release of prisoners who were
sentenced by the court because it is beyond the capacity of the
government.
On November 16, the Cambodian Center of Human Rights sent an open letter
to the president of the Appeal Court, You Bunleng, urging quick action
on the pending appeal.
The
letter highlights the lack of proof in the case, and says the verdict of
the municipal court reflected a lack of independence in the court
system of Cambodia.
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