*Arrest Warrants Issued for Opposition Facebook Administrators* Khmer Times/May Titthara | Tuesday, 01 December 2015 [image: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/files/news/18255/1448987343.jpg] Ung Chong Leang, 20 (purple shirt), at an opposition rally before he fled to Thailand, where he is seeking political asylum in a third country. Supplied
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday issued arrest warrants for the administer of opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page and an assistant to jailed opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour, while they are in Thailand applying for asylum to other countries. The arrest warrant issued by investigative judge Kor Vandy orders police to arrest Satya Sambath, 25 – Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook administer – and Ung Chong Leang, 20, an assistant to Mr. Sok Hour who administers his Facebook page. They have both been charged with three crimes: forging a public document, using a forged public document and incitement to cause serious chaos to social security. “Arrest them and bring them to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for action according to the legal procedures,” the warrant says. The two men fled to Thailand on August 19, after they were identified by name during police interviews with Mr. Sok Hour. On November 20, a warrant was issued by Judge Vandy ordering Mr. Rainsy to appear at the municipal court on Friday to answer questions on charges of conspiracy to fake public documents, using false public documents and inciting serious chaos to social security. Earlier last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen defended the arrest during a speech to Cambodian students and expatriates in France. “Please do not be confused about why he was arrested even though he had [parliamentary] immunity. We respect immunity, but in cases of flagrante delicto, they can be arrested immediately,” Mr. Hun Sen said, using a Latin phrase that describes flagrant acts of crime. Yem Ponharith, spokesman for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), yesterday expressed dismay about the latest warrants against opposition members and called for a return to the agreement reached between the CNRP and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to enter a so-called “culture of dialogue.” That agreement was reached on July 22, 2014 ending the yearlong deadlock between the two parties that followed the disputed elections of 2013. The CNRP claimed after the election that it had won a majority of seats but had been cheated out of forming the government by the CPP. Although the latest CNRP members facing arrest are widely reported to be in Thailand applying for asylum in third countries, Mr. Ponharith said that he did not know where they are. “I don’t know where they are, but I know they are administers of the Facebook page of H.E Sam Rainsy,” he said. Am Sam Ath, a senior investigator at rights group Licadho, said the latest arrest warrants for opposition members are making the political atmosphere tenser. He said the ruling party is using the courts to threaten the CNRP. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said politics had nothing to do with the arrest warrants. The warrants were issued because the two young men had broken the law, Mr. Siphan said. “Those who say the ruling party is using the courts to threaten the CNRP think they are living in a country that has no law,” he said, describing such a country as a “jungle democracy.” The opposition has said that the arrest of Mr. Sok Hour, and the imprisonment of 14 CNRP activists over an anti-government protest that turned violent last year, are part of a politically motivated crackdown. The crackdown is a response to the opposition’s advocacy campaign about the politically charged issue of demarcating the border with Vietnam. CNRP members have accused the CPP of ceding Cambodian territory to Vietnam. Prior to the “crackdown” they had called for the border demarcation to be halted until after the next election, saying they were the only party that could protect Cambodia’s territorial integrity. The opposition has long alleged that Vietnam has encroached on Cambodian territory, and said that this has been done with the tacit support of the ruling party. Mr. Rainsy is now in self-imposed exile as he faces two arrest warrants if he returns to Cambodia. He has been in exile before, after being found guilty by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court in early 2010 on several charges, after participating in the uprooting of border demarcation posts he claimed that Vietnam had planted inside Cambodian territory. Mr. Rainsy later received a Royal pardon, returning to Cambodia in time for the 2013 elections. -- Best Regards, *Khmer Forum* *A place for sharing community events and public news.* -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to camdisc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to camdisc-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to camdisc+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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