PHNOM PENH - The leader of the Sam Rainsy Party youth wing has been summoned to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, after filing a complaint against Prime Minister Hun Sen and other Cambodian leaders for a fatal bridge disaster in 2010.
The youth leader, Soung Sophoan, said he hoped the court will prove neutral in the case.
He is to appear on Dec. 7, after filing a negligence complaint against the premier and others for the Water Festival bridge stampede, which killed more than 350 people.
A government inquiry found no fault with authorities or police in modern Cambodia’s worst disaster ever.
“The Cambodian government should acknowledge the truth,” Soung Sophoan said Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech Sunday he is considering a countersuit against Soung Sophoan. If the premier is found not guilty in the initial lawsuit, he has the right to countersue, he said.
Opposition leaders have brought suit against Hun Sen before, to no avail. Mu Sochua, a SRP parliamentarian for Kampot province, sued the prime minister for slander during the run-up to the 2008 elections, for allegedly sexist remarks. She lost. Hun Sen countersued, and won, costing Mu Sochua a fine and revocation of her parliamentary immunity for years afterward.
The youth leader, Soung Sophoan, said he hoped the court will prove neutral in the case.
He is to appear on Dec. 7, after filing a negligence complaint against the premier and others for the Water Festival bridge stampede, which killed more than 350 people.
A government inquiry found no fault with authorities or police in modern Cambodia’s worst disaster ever.
“The Cambodian government should acknowledge the truth,” Soung Sophoan said Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech Sunday he is considering a countersuit against Soung Sophoan. If the premier is found not guilty in the initial lawsuit, he has the right to countersue, he said.
Opposition leaders have brought suit against Hun Sen before, to no avail. Mu Sochua, a SRP parliamentarian for Kampot province, sued the prime minister for slander during the run-up to the 2008 elections, for allegedly sexist remarks. She lost. Hun Sen countersued, and won, costing Mu Sochua a fine and revocation of her parliamentary immunity for years afterward.
