VZCZCXRO4540
PP RUEHHM
DE RUEHHM #1145/01 3171029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131029Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3336
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2292
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0040
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3551

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF AND DRL/AWH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI PREF KIRF PREL PGOV PHUM CB VM
SUBJECT: TIM SAKHORN SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN PRISON 
 
REF: REFS: A)HCMC 836; B)HCMC 766 C)HCMC 733 D)HCMC 520 E) PHNOM PENH 905 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (SBU) On November 8, 2007, defrocked Khmer Krom monk Tim 
Sakhorn was sentenced to one year in prison by the An Giang 
Provincial People's Court for "sabotaging national unity," as 
defined by Article 87 of the GVN criminal code.  The one-year 
sentence includes time already served in detention, which Post 
believes began with his reported arrest in Vietnam on June 30, 
¶2007.  Local news reports say Sakhorn "received materials and 
money from an exile reactionary organization to distribute 500 
documents and 300 video discs with contents against the 
Vietnamese State" and "incited the Khmer ethnic minority people 
in An Giang province to lodge petitions and cause social 
disorder."  Several An Giang land rights protesters told ConGen 
they were called to testify that Sakhorn gave them money to 
organize Khmer supporters for the land rights movement here. 
All declined to testify, but sources say one witness told 
authorities while she was in police detention that she received 
money from Sakhorn and gave it to another witness.  The news 
reports also shed more light on Sakhorn's background, confirming 
his Vietnamese citizenship and long residency in Cambodia.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following receipt of a press release from the Khmer 
Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKKF) announcing Tim Sakhorn's trial 
in An Giang, Post confirmed with local contacts that he was 
tried and sentenced to one year in prison for "sabotaging 
national unity" under Article 87 of the GVN criminal code on 
November 8.  Voice of Vietnam news said Sakhorn plead guilty and 
noted the short prison term (as compared to sentencing 
guidelines for Article 87 violations) was due to his "remorse 
and sincere attitude."  Article 87 violations can carry a 
maximum sentence of 15 years.  The one year sentenced includes 
the time Sakhorn has already served since his detention began in 
July. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to official news outlets, Sakhorn was 
arrested by Vietnamese authorities on June 30, 2007 for 
attempting to enter Vietnam from Cambodia illegally after being 
defrocked by the Buddhist church for violating Buddhist laws. 
However, earlier reports from Embassy Phnom Penh indicate that 
Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities cooperated in having 
Sakhorn forcibly removed from Cambodia and detained in Vietnam 
(Ref E).  Vietnamese press said the charges stemmed from 
Sakhorn's KKKF activism in Vietnam.  Specifically, Sakhorn was 
accused of receiving funding from the KKKF to slander the 
Vietnamese government and incite separatism via the 
dissemination of approximately 500 magazines and 300 video disks 
provided by KKKF to Khmer people in An Giang from April 2005 
until the time of his arrest.  In addition to the charges of 
inciting separatism in the Khmer community in An Giang, reports 
also claim Sakhorn was attempting to fund and organize residents 
with land rights claims to join four demonstrations staged in An 
Giang, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City. 
 
KKKF Supporting the Land Rights Movement? 
----------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Press reports stated that four witnesses were called to 
testify at Sakhorn's trial regarding funds he allegedly provided 
them with and instructions he gave to organize Khmer protesters 
to join land rights demonstrations in the South.  Post spoke to 
two of the witnesses, who confirmed all four had been summoned 
and all four had filed land dispute claims in An Giang.  Some 
had also participated in the July land rights protests in Ho Chi 
Minh City (Ref B).  Though all four witnesses decided not to 
testify in court, ConGen contacts said one witness, Ms. Neang 
Phe, was detained briefly by authorities and told police she 
received funds from Sakhorn and then gave them to another 
witness, Mr Chau In.  When ConGen staff spoke to Mr. In, he 
denied any connection to Sakhorn and said he was too afraid to 
attend Sakhorn's trial, though police had come to his home on 
the day of the trial to "remind" him of the summons.  Ms. Phe 
was unavailable for comment.  Official reports of Sakhorn's 
trial said Mr. In confessed to receiving and disseminating 
anti-GVN CDs and magazines from Tim Sakhorn, inciting public 
protests and causing public disorder.  Reports also said Sakhorn 
plead guilty to all charges and admitted his connections to all 
four witnesses.  (Note:  It is unclear from the reports when or 
how authorities obtained these confessions.  End note.) 
 
More on Sakhorn's Background 
---------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Official reports of Sakhorn's trial also provided some 
details about his background.  Reports confirmed he was born in 
1968 in the Ba Chuc commune, Tri Ton district of An Giang.  He 
and his family then fled to (vs. from) Cambodia in 1978 because 
of Khmer Rouge activity in the region.  Sakhorn then returned to 
Vietnam in 1990 and left again for Cambodia late the same year. 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001145  002 OF 002 
 
 
The report alleges he was made Vice President of the KKKF in 
2005, and defrocked on June 30, 2007 for violating Buddhist law 
(Ref D). 
 
¶6. (SBU) All of the official reports describe activities Sakhorn 
allegedly conducted in Vietnam.  ConGen contacts say he went 
back and forth between Vietnam and Cambodia regularly.  As post 
reported earlier, one monk in An Giang said he saw Sakhorn in An 
Giang a month before his arrest and another monk said police 
visited pagodas in the area and instructed monks not to give 
Sakhorn refuge after he was defrocked(Ref C).  None of our 
contacts could confirm whether Sakhorn was actively engaged in 
KKKF or land rights activism, however. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶7. (SBU) The land rights activism charge is new and noteworthy. 
The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), a politically 
active and officially unrecognized sect which broke with the 
Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in 1981, has made no secret of their 
support for the land rights movement here and has both 
successfully and unsuccessfully donated funds to protesters in 
the past.  It unclear if GVN authorities are trying to link 
Sakhorn--and therefore the KKKF--with the land rights movement 
in an effort to discredit him or whether Sakhorn was genuinely 
involved.  As the hottest grassroots movement around, the land 
rights movement seems to be attracting support from many 
advocates of democracy and free speech in Vietnam.  Post notes 
that information presented in the press and by contacts show 
Sakhorn's arrest and prosecution had little (if anything) to do 
with his religion, but rather his alleged activism on behalf of 
the KKKF and possibly in support of the land rights movement. 
 
¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Phnom Penh and 
Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX