Cambodian court sentences election official to six months in prison for criticizing court

Source: Xinhua   2016-09-22 

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Thursday sentenced Ny Chakrya, a senior election official and the former staffer of local rights group Adhoc, to six months in prison for defaming Siem Reap Provincial Court officials, a court spokesman said.

Ny Chakrya, who was appointed as a deputy secretary-general of the National Election Committee in January this year, was found guilty of "public defamation, slanderous denunciation, and publication of commentaries to put pressure on jurisdiction," said Phnom Penh Municipal Court's spokesman Ly Sophanna.

"The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Ny Chakrya to six months in prison and fined him 6 million riel (1,500 U.S. dollars)," he told reporters.

The guilty verdict was pronounced by the Court's Presiding Judge Khy Chhay after a two-hour trial on Thursday morning.

The conviction came after, in July last year, Ny Chakrya, then-head of Adhoc's human rights section, condemned a Siem Reap Provincial Court prosecutor and judge for arresting two residents involved in a land dispute, accusing the court officials of committing corruption.

Besides this case, Ny Chakrya, along with four Adhoc officers, was being held in a pre-trial detention for his alleged involvement in bribing a mistress of deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha to deny the affair during questioning in a prostitution case.