CAMBODIA OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER EDITOR ARRESTED FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000472 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PJUS KDEM PHUM CB SUBJECT: CAMBODIA OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER EDITOR ARRESTED FOR DISINFORMATION; MINISTER OF INFORMATION CALLS FOR HIS RELEASE Classified By: Political Officer Janet Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On Sunday, June 8, the Cambodian editor-in-chief of an opposition party affiliated newspaper was arrested on criminal disinformation charges and is currently being held in pre-trial detention in a Phnom Penh prison. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong filed the charges against Moneaksekar Khmer Editor-in-Chief Dam Sith because the paper printed an article on April 18 that included recent statements by Sam Rainsy that Hor Namhong had links to the Khmer Rouge -- links Hor Namhong denies. This is neither the first time that Hor Namhong has filed defamation and disinformation charges against others, nor the first time that Dam Sith has had such charges filed against him, signaling this could be a clash of personal wills and not premeditated ruling party action. However, opposition party members and rights groups point out the incident's pre-election timing and detention of an opposition party member who is running for a Phnom Penh National Assembly seat. In a signal that this is not wholly CPP-sanctioned or supported, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith requested release on bail of Dam Sith on June 9. End summary. Newspaper Editor Arrested for Disinformation -------------- ¶2. (U) On Sunday, June 8, the Editor-in-Chief of Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper was arrested on charges of criminal disinformation and was additionally charged with civil defamation and libel charges. The charges stem from an April 18 article printed in the SRP-affiliated Moneaksekar Khmer that included statements by Sam Rainsy that Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong had ties to the Khmer Rouge. The Minister has since filed disinformation and defamation suits against Sam Rainsy, who has parliamentary immunity. ¶3. (U) Criminal disinformation is defined in the 1993 U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) criminal law as the publishing, distribution, or reproduction by any means of information that is false, fabricated, falsified or untruthfully attributed to a third person and is done so in bad faith or with malicious intent provided that the act has disturbed or is likely to disturb the public peace. Disinformation is punishable by six months to three years imprisonment, a fine of one to ten million riels (USD 250 to 2,500),or both. Defamation is defined under UNTAC law as any bad faith allegation or distortions of fact that harm the honor or reputation of an individual. Such statements against a public figure which the author, journalist, publisher, editor, or producer knows to be false and nevertheless distributes, publishes, writes or circulates with malicious intent is also defamation. Libel is covered under the same article of law as defamation and is defined as any insult, contemptuous remark or abusive language that does not claim to impute fact. Defamation and libel were decriminalized in 2006 but are still considered civil offenses punishable by a fine of one to ten million riels (USD 250 to 2,500). Editor is SRP Member Running for National Assembly Seat -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Moneaksekar Khmer Editor-in-Chief Dam Sith is a member of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) Steering Committee and is registered with the National Election Committee (NEC) as an SRP contender for a Phnom Penh National Assembly seat in the July 27 national elections. (Note: The criminal and civil charges do not affect his eligibility for candidacy. End Note.) After Dam Sith's arrest, Sam Rainsy told the press that Dam Sith had been approached by a CPP member with an offer for him to leave the SRP and join the CPP but that Dam Sith refused. Opposition party members and some rights groups consider the arrest to be politically-motivated. Neither the First Time Dam Sith Has Faced Charges... -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Dam Sith has faced defamation, libel, and disinformation charges in the past for content of the Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper. In 2002, he was convicted of the charges for criticizing Prince Norodom Ranariddh and the National Assembly and ordered to pay a fine. (Note: Norodom Ranariddh served as National Assembly President at the time. End note.) In 2004, Dam Sith was again sued for publishing approximately 20 articles in Moneaksekar Khmer that tarnished Prince Norodom Ranariddh's reputation and that of the National Assembly. In September 2006, Deputy Prime Minister PHNOM PENH 00000472 002 OF 003 Sok An filed a lawsuit against Dam Sith for publishing an article stating Sok An was involved with corruption. Dam Sith was tried and convicted in absentia on disinformation charges and ordered to pay an eight million riel (USD 2,000) fine and ten million riels (USD 2,500) in damages to the government. ... Nor the First Time Hor Namhong Has Filed Them -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) For more than a decade, Hor Namhong has been using disinformation and defamation charges to try to counter press linking him to killings in a Cambodian work camp, called Boeung Trabek Re-education Center, during the Khmer Rouge era. In the early 1990s, Hor Namhong won a lawsuit against then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk in a French court for statements linking Hor Namhong to killings at Boeung Trabek. Sihanouk was ordered to pay a fine and punitive damages; however, it has been reported that Hor Namhong refused to accept the money. In 2006, a court convicted The Cambodia Daily journalist Kay Kimsong of defamation based on charges filed by Hor Namhong. This case was similar to the Dam Sith case in that Kay Kimsong was accused of including in a story quotes from an individual who alleged that Hor Namhong was a high-ranking official who ordered killings at Boeung Trabek during the Khmer Rouge era. Kay Kimsong was ordered to pay more than USD 2,000 in fines for repeating a defamatory comment. Next Step in the Judicial Process -- Bail? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) While some opposition party members and other observers have speculated about whether the arrest is politically motivated, that proposition is muddied by the Minister of Information's submission on June 9 of a letter to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court requesting the release on bail of Dam Sith -- Information Minister Khieu Kanharith is a CPP member and government spokesperson. Khieu Kanharith's letter to the court requests Dam Sith to be released from jail temporarily to await further investigation by the court. Late in the day on June 10, the investigating judge had not yet made a decision on the bail request. ¶8. (SBU) Under Cambodian procedure code, the courts have six months to bring the case to trial. Dam Sith's lawyer states that he will file for an appeal of the detention order with the Appeals Court because the lawyer believes the investigating judge should have questioned Dam Sith several times before he was arrested -- something that is not specified by procedure codes. The lawyer is also requesting a release on bail from the Phnom Penh Court. If successful, these moves would resolve Dam Sith's detention issue, but he still faces a long investigation and potentially a day in court against Hor Namhong in the coming weeks and months. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) Dam Sith's arrest was carried out in an unusual, rapid fashion. He was picked up on a Sunday morning, appeared in court that afternoon, and was detained in jail that night. Military police were involved in the arrest -- Dam Sith had willingly responded to a summons to appear in court on June 5 and no police were used for that court appearance. The investigation of the charges appeared to be going along smoothly; Dam Sith was not detained after his initial court appearance, suggesting he was not considered a flight risk. When he was arrested on Sunday, one media report stated the court ordered Dam Sith detained for fear that he might "taint evidence" if released. The unusual aspects of the detention point to someone pulling strings within the Cambodian judicial system. More likely than not, this is a personally motivated move by Hor Namhong, whose position as Minister of Foreign Affairs after July's election is questionable, and who is outraged by allegations linking him to the Khmer Rouge -- he lost many family members at the hands of the KR regime. While this might be a case of political intimidation aimed at opposition candidates, it is unclear who would be the author of such a ham-fisted plot. There is some legitimate concern that even if unintentional, this arrest will cast a pall over press freedom issues in the pre-election period. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith's request for Dam Sith to be released on bail is an important reminder that the CPP may not be aware of every action ordered and makes speculation about what might be behind the arrest more complex. The Ambassador has sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen in regard to this arrest case, and has PHNOM PENH 00000472 003 OF 003 requested a meeting with the Information Minister to address press freedom issues and to ask Khieu Kanharith for his perceptions on this case. MUSSOMELI