Cambodian Soldier Admits Attack on Opposition Lawmakers

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A member of an elite Cambodian military unit being tried on charges of beating up two opposition lawmakers told a court Thursday that he carried out the act but said he was insulted by the victims and did not know they were members of Parliament.

Chay Sarith testified in Phnom Penh Municipal Court, where he and two colleagues are being tried in the October 2015 attack on two lawmakers from the Cambodia National Rescue Party as they were leaving a parliamentary session. The defendants were part of a pro-government crowd that had gathered to demand the resignation of deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha.

The three defendants are members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit, and circumstantial evidence has led critics to suggest the ruling Cambodian People's Party orchestrated the attacks. The attack came as Hun Sen and his party stepped up a campaign to pressure the opposition, which had mounted a surprisingly strong challenge in the 2013 general election.

A lawyer for the lawmakers, allowed to take part in the trial, questioned why only the three men were being tried.

"There were 600 to 700 protesters involved and we would like to know who was the mastermind who ordered the attack," said Choung Chou Ngy.

The lawyer was stopped by the judge when he tried to ask questions about the accused man's role in the bodyguard unit, his commander, and the person who allegedly organized the attack.

Sarith, wearing a prisoner's uniform, testified that he and the other men on trial, along with other demonstrators, assaulted the lawmakers because they called the demonstrators Vietnamese puppets. Opposition politicians, appealing in part to old nationalistic prejudices, like to associate the ruling party with Vietnam, accusing them of ceding territory to Cambodia's larger eastern neighbor. Hen Sen was installed in power after a Vietnamese invasion ousted Cambodia's fanatical Khmer Rouge regime three decades ago.

Sarith, a major in the bodyguard unit, said he did not realize that the beaten men, who were dragged out of their cars, were lawmakers and would not have beaten them if he had known. The three defendants are charged with intentional violence with aggravating circumstances and intentional property damage with aggravating circumstances.

While Cambodia is formally democratic, Hun Sen's government is authoritarian and known for intimidating opponents.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

source http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/04/28/world/asia/ap-as-cambodia-politics.html?_r=0

[klauskunkel]

A lawyer for the lawmakers, allowed to take part in the trial

Now, that is....something, it's just plain sweet and incredibly innovative to allow the lawyer of the victims to attend the trial.

But:

The lawyer was stopped by the judge when he tried to ask questions

questions are a no-no, can't have questions at a trial, totally preposterous! And from a lawyer. Of the victims. No manners at all!