Kim Sok sentenced in absentia 18 months for defamation and incitement

 


Buth  Reaksmey Kongkea (18th January 2023)

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on January 18, 2023 sentenced in absentia exiled political analyst Kim Sok to 18 months in prison over defamation and incitement charges committed in Phnom Penh, 2017.

Court’s Judge Seng Socheath said, Kim Sok, 42, was charged with two counts of  “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest and the public defamation” under Articles 494, 495 and 305  of the Criminal Code and was sued by the government’s lawyers group chief, Ky Tech on February 16, 2017, he said.  

“The Court has decided to sentence the accused in absentia to 18 months in prison and fined him of 8 million riels (approximately $2,000) to put in the state's budget,” Judge Socheath said.


“The Court also ordered him to pay 50 million riels (approximately $12,500) in compensation to the representative of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ky Tech, the plaintiff in case. The Court also issued an arrest warrant to apprehend him and send him to Correctional Centre I (CC1),” he said.  

 Judge Socheath said, on February 13, 2017, Radio Free Asia (RFA) interviewed Sok, who alleged the Government of Cambodia had created a system to eliminate its critics through state-sponsored killings.


In the interview, Sok alleged, all the killings of those who spoke critically or against the government leaders, such as the journalist and the former publisher of the Voice of Khmer Youth, Noun Chan; former FUNCINPEC party member Om Rasady; Ta Prohm radio reporter, Chuor Chetharith; the former leader of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC); Chea Vichea; environmental and forest activist Chhuth Vuthy; film actress Pisith Pilika; the venerable monk Sam Bunthoeun  and the political commentator Kem Ley. The government has never found the killers or brought them to the justice.  

Sok’s claims and accusations are untrue; he has aimed to incite people to discriminate against government leaders, create turmoil or social unrest or to go against the government, he added.  

In August 2017, Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Sok to 18 months in prison over allegations that the Prime Minister Hun Sen was behind the murder of the political analyst Kem Ley.

He was charged with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest and public defamation” under Articles 494, 495 and 305 of the Criminal Code.

Sok’s lawyer, Choung Choungy and Ky Tech were uncontactable for comment yesterday. 

// END// 

 

 

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