A court in Cambodia has sentenced a government critic and land-rights campaigner to 20 years in prison on charges of seeking to incite a rebellion against the state. The court in Phnom Penh delivered the verdict Monday against Mam Sonando, who heads the independent Beehive radio station. The court said Sonando incited villagers to take […]
Khmer Rouge Defendant Freed
Posted September 16th, 2012 at 4:15 am (UTC-5)
One of the former Khmer Rouge’s highest-ranking leaders has been freed from detention in Cambodia after a war crimes tribunal declared her unfit for trial. Eighty-year-old Ieng Thirith was freed on a provisional release Sunday. Thirith, one of only a handful of people ever brought before a court over atrocities during the Khmer Rouge era, […]
Following Appeal, Court Delays Release of ‘First Lady’ of Khmer Rouge
Posted September 14th, 2012 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
Prosecutors at Cambodia’s United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal have appealed the court’s decision to unconditionally release the aging sister-in-law of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. In a statement Friday, the prosecutors said they want tighter restrictions on the release of Ieng Thirith , who a day earlier was found unfit to stand trial for […]
Cambodia Arrests Pirate Bay Co-Founder at Sweden’s Request
Posted September 3rd, 2012 at 3:30 am (UTC-5)
Cambodian authorities have arrested one of the co-founders of the popular file-sharing website The Pirate Bay at the request of Sweden, where he faces a jail sentence for violating copyright laws. A police spokesman says police arrested Gottfrid Svartholm Warg last week at a rented home in the capital, Phnom Penh. The spokesman said Cambodia […]
Researchers Find Rare Photo of Westerner Killed by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
A Cambodian-led research team has uncovered a rare photograph of one of the few Westerners to be killed at a notorious Khmer Rouge prison in the 1970s. The Documentation Center for Cambodia sent the photograph of French embassy worker Andres Gaston Courtigne to VOA’s Khmer Service Thursday. Chief archivist Chhang Youk said his team found […]
Cambodia’s Opposition Joins Forces Ahead of 2013 Election
Posted August 9th, 2012 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
Cambodia’s two leading opposition parties have decided to join forces ahead of next year’s election for a better chance to unseat the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. The Sam Rainsy Party will merge with the Human Rights Party under the leadership of Sam Rainsy, who currently lives in self-imposed exile in France. The new union, called […]
Frenchman Linked to Bo Xilai Scandal Flies to China
Posted July 18th, 2012 at 1:40 am (UTC-5)
A French architect held in Cambodia for more than a month has been released and flown to China, where he is wanted as a witness in connection with the country’s biggest political scandal in year. Cambodian officials said Wednesday that Patrick Devillers boarded a flight late Tuesday under is own free will. Devillers was arrested […]
Cambodian Doctors Identify Cause of Child-Killing Disease
Posted July 9th, 2012 at 1:45 am (UTC-5)
Doctors in Cambodia say they have identified an illness that has killed dozens of children in the past three months. Officials at the Cambodian Health Ministry and the World Health Organization announced Sunday that samples collected from some of at least 60 children who died, tested positive for the Enterovirus 71, which causes hand, foot […]
Cambodia: Court Frees Land Eviction Protesters
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
A Cambodian court has ordered the release of 13 women who were imprisoned after protesting in support of families whose homes were destroyed during forced evictions. The women were sentenced last month to two and a half years in prison, following a brief trial that rights groups described as hasty and unfair. Judge Seng Sivutha […]
Cambodian FM: Cambodia Will Not Deport Frenchman Linked to Chinese Probe
Posted June 22nd, 2012 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
Cambodia says it will not deport a French architect who once worked closely with a disgraced senior Chinese official at the center of one of modern China’s biggest and most public political scandals. Frenchman Patrick Devillers was arrested earlier this month outside of Phnom Penh at the request of China, for his alleged involvement in […]
