Government lawyers tried to suggest that the event was clear evidence of the United States’ support for Kem Sokha and that it had funded his political career, in addition to his human rights NGO, CCHR.
The prosecution and government have looked to pin Kem Sokha on his relationship with the U.S. and organizations, like IRI and NDI, to suggest they aided and guided his career as a human rights advocate and politician
The little time the court spent on Kem Sokha’s activities, as the head of the Human Rights Party, also did not reveal much evidence or information about how it pertained to the charge of treason
The government lawyers, during their questioning of Kem Sokha on Thursday, looked to draw a link between Kem Sokha’s grassroots work at CCHR and the post-election protests in 2013. They claimed the aim of his human rights advocacy was to instigate the 2013 protests
The defense said that two sections of the 1-hour video – one around 105 seconds and the other 31 seconds – had been edited together.
The defense began the proceedings by detailing all 35 pieces of evidence. This included the one-hour video clip of his 2013 speech in Australia, which has already been admitted by the judges.
Yeang Sothearin agreed with his lawyer, saying that the elongation of the investigation period was only meant to burden him and Uon Chhin.
Journalists have so far relied on short comments from government and defense lawyers when the court is in recess, but have lacked a lot of critical details about the two days of hearings.
The opposition leader attended both sessions of the hearing and will return to court on Thursday, rounding up this week’s hearings.
After the two-minute edited clip was played in court, Kem Sokha, responding to queries from the panel of three judges, said that the video did not belong to him, but that he was the person who was speaking in the clip.
The prolonged trial would take it past the February 12 deadline for the European Commission to submit its final report on whether to suspend the ‘Everything But Arms’ trade preferences.
Last week, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said the courtroom for Kem Sokha’s trial can hold only 30 people.
The brother of a woman who died in the collapse, along with her husband and two sons, told VOA Khmer that he hopes the court will provide justice to his family.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at a press conference on Sunday said that the construction contractor in Kep should be accountable for poor construction.
Cambodian People’s Party Senator Sok Eysan said that the EBA withdrawal would not affect the country’s economy and that the EU’s demands were political in nature.
Last month, Interior Minister Sar Kheng seemed almost hopeless at the ministry’s efforts to curb road accidents and deaths, making a call for any stakeholders to provide new solutions for the issue.
Reports suggest that as many as 100 employees of the hotel are demanding outstanding salaries, creating discontent over payroll issues.
A vegetable seller in Phnom Penh said produce was being imported from countries like Vietnam at cheaper rates than local production.
In 2016, the government also initiated a plan to nationalize almost all major markets across the country, on account of elections in 2017 and criticism for market vendors about past management.
ព័ត៌មានផ្សេងទៀត
