Woman charged with incitement over video

Heng Leakhena escorted by officials after questioning on Wednesday at the Interior Ministry for allegedly accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen of killing political analyst Kem Ley in a video posted on Facebook. Heng Chivoan

14 Jul, 2017 Meas Sokchea

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A woman who accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of killing political analyst Kem Ley was charged with “incitement” yesterday and now faces up to two years in prison.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge Van Senvisoth in the morning issued an order for pretrial detention of Hin Vansreypov, 37, who uses the moniker “Heng Leakhena” on Facebook, where the threat was made.
Vansreypov was charged under articles 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code and sent to Prey Sar prison in the morning.

During the anniversary ceremonies for Ley’s death earlier this week, a video uploaded to Facebook shows Vansreypov, dressed in a shirt and cap bearing the logo of the opposition party accusing the premier of masterminding the murder of the widely admired Ley.

“[It was] the contemptible [Hun] Sen, there is no other,” she says in the video. “His children are murderers stained with the blood of Kem Ley too.”

She stands accused of “incitement to commit a felony”, which involves the direct use of public speech, writing, pictures or audio-visual communication to incite people to commit a crime or “disturb social security”. The charges carry a prison term of six months to two years, and a fine from 1 million to 4 million riel ($250 to $1,000).