Cambodia Claims Thailand Will Extradite Opposition

[udon]

Cambodia claims Thailand will extradite opposition activists

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Thailand has agreed to arrest and extradite three prominent Cambodian opposition activists who fled there after arrest warrants were issued against them on allegations of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Police Chief Hok Lundy said today.

Arriving back in Cambodia after visiting Thailand specifically to negotiate the issue, Hok Lundy told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport that he had received a firm promise from his Thai counterpart that everything possible would be done to return the trio to Cambodia to face trial.

Arrest warrants on charges of defamation were issued for prominent student leaders Men Nath and Ea Channa, and president of Cambodia's most influential factory workers' union, Chea Mony, over a letter they signed as members of the Cambodian Watchdog Council (CWC) alleging Hun Sen had allowed border encroachment and had signed a border treaty with Vietnam in October that was against Cambodia's best interests.

"I worked with the Thai national police chief and he promised Thai police would work hard to arrest those three people as soon as possible," Hok Lundy said.

"The Thais have promised they will send them to the border to implement the arrest warrant issued by the Cambodian government. Any country anyone flees to, the Cambodian government will contact that government and get those people back," he added.

Cambodia has a pre-existing extradition treaty with Thailand.

A fourth CWC member, Independent Teacher's Union leader Rong Chhun, was arrested on October 15 as he attempted to flee to Thailand. He is being held in Phnom Penh's overcrowded Prey Sar prison on the same charges.

A fifth man, independent radio broadcaster Mom Sonando, was arrested on October 11 after he made the same allegations regarding Hun Sen's handling of the divisive and politically sensitive border issue during an interview with an overseas Cambodian aired on his Beehive radio station. Sonando was refused bail in the Cambodian Appeals Court Thursday and also remains in jail.

Under Cambodian law, people can be detained in prison for six months prior to trial while the case is investigated.

Human rights groups have decried the arrests and the issuing of warrants against the other three men who remain at large in Thailand, saying it bodes badly for freedom of speech in Cambodia. The New York-based Human Rights Watch went as far as accusing Hun Sen of using defamation laws to muzzle opposition.

However Hun Sen has made it clear he believes the group's comments are clearly defamatory and politically damaging ahead of Senate elections scheduled for next January and he will pursue the case.

If convicted, the men face a year in prison and up to 2,500 dollars in fines each.

Bangkok Post.

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Seems to be the latest tool to silence govt's critics in both countries!

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