VZCZCXRO5246
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0472/01 1621006
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101006Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

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