LICADHO deplores today's decision by the Appeal Court to uphold the murder conviction of Thach Saveth, also known as Chan Sopheak. This verdict is yet another example of the injustices that Cambodia's judiciary continues to perpetuate on a regular basis.

Thach Saveth is serving a 15-year prison sentence for the 2004 murder of trade union official Ros Sovannareth, despite a lack of credible evidence against him. He was convicted on the basis of written statements, prepared by the police, from witnesses to the murder who allegedly identified him. These witnesses never testified in court or were interviewed by any court official. One of these witnesses was present at last week's Appeal Court hearing, at the request of the defense lawyers, but the court refused to allow him to testify.

Thach Saveth's original trial by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in February 2005 and the Appeal Court hearing on February 11 last week were blatantly unfair. The sole evidence presented were the written statements by the police's witnesses, who could not be cross-examined by defense lawyers. The statements contained a glaring inconsistency: some of the witnesses reportedly said that Thach Saveth resembled the gunman, while others said he looked like the shooter’s accomplice, his motorcycle driver. Both courts rejected the testimony of defense witnesses, who did appear in court, that Thach Saveth was not in Phnom Penh on the day of the murder.

Like the Municipal Court, the Appeal Court displayed a total lack of respect for the presumption of innocence. The judges placed the burden on Thach Saveth to prove his innocence, rather than on the prosecution to provide overwhelming evidence of his guilt. In their verdict today, the judges made no mention of any prosecution evidence against him. Instead, they spoke of Thach Saveth's inability, when questioned during last week's hearing, to clearly remember where he was - nearly five years ago - on the day of Ros Sovannareth's murder.

There is every reason to believe that the case against Thach Saveth was fabricated. He was arrested by the same Toul Kork district police officers who framed Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of another trade unionist, Chea Vichea. After nearly five years in prison, those two men were released on bail by the Supreme Court, in acknowledgment of the lack of evidence against them, on December 31, 2008.

"The Supreme Court's action to release Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun was a positive development for Cambodia's judiciary, but today's Appeal Court verdict is a step backward," said Kek Galabru, LICADHO's president. "Sadly, it seems that the Supreme Court's decision was the exception, not the rule, and it does not indicate any wider improvement in the independence and professionalism of Cambodia's courts."

LICADHO also regrets that the Cambodian judiciary's participation with international colleagues in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which yesterday began the trial of its first defendant, appears to be having no positive impact on the rest of the courts. "It is sad and ironic, that, even as Cambodians hope that some justice may finally be provided for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, the country's courts fail to offer anything resembling justice to Thach Saveth and countless others on a daily basis," said Kek Galabru.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Dr. Kek Galabru, LICADHO President, 012 940 645

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