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10
October 2005
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),
the global organisation representing over 500,000
journalists in more than 110 countries, is concerned
about a criminal defamation case being brought
against a Cambodian newspaper.
On
September 22, Koh Kong police officer Chen Sovann
filed a criminal defamation suit against local
paper Cambodia Today, demanding 10 million riel
(US$2,500).
The
lawsuit came two days after the paper published
an article by journalist Eng Meng Leng alleging
that Sovann helped a suspected human trafficker
flee the country.
"Defamation
should not be a criminal offence, yet Cambodian
authorities continue to ignore the Cambodian Press
Law by allowing criminal cases to be brought against
journalists," said IFJ President Christopher
Warren.
"Eng
Meng Leng is one of a growing number of Cambodian
journalists who have been threatened with criminal
lawsuits or even violence after reporting on police,
military or government activity; this is a blatant
abuse of the legal system and a huge threat to
press freedom," said Warren.
Eng
Meng Leng said he had evidence that Sovann helped
the manager of Hotel Chay Hour II in Phnom Penh
to escape during an investigation into his involvement
in human trafficking.
However,
Sovann argued that he was the one who arrested
the man in Thailand, and brought him back to Cambodia.
Earlier
this year, fellow Cambodian journalist Kay Kimsong
was convicted of defamation for his alleged involvement
in a defamatory article about Foreign Affairs
Minister Hor Namhong.
Kimsong
was charged under both civil and criminal law
and ordered to pay 30 million riel (US$7,300)
after the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Cambodia
upheld the guilty verdict against him.
The
threat of a jail sentence forces self-censorship
among journalists, and prevents critical reporting
of governments and other powerful figures.
The
IFJ believes that no journalist should go to jail
for doing their job, and is campaigning for the
decriminalisation of defamation.
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