Phnom Penh (FN), June 13 – Members of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party issued a statement today, June13, 2016 saying that Kem Sokha, CNRP’s Acting President and a parliamentarian for Kampong Cham, will not appear in the court on June 14, 2016 as summonsed by the court.

“Members of the Cambodian National Rescue Party would like to reiterate that Mr. Kem Sokha, a parliamentarian for Kampong Cham, acting president of CNRP and acting head of the National Assembly minority group, will not appear in the court on June 13, 2016 as summonsed by the investigating judge of Phnom Penh Municipal Court in the letter of summon numbered 151, dated June 2, 2016 on the ground that he has Parliament’s immunity,” reads the statement.
Investigating Judge of Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Thann Leng, on May 26, issued a summon to Mr. Kem Sokha to appear in the court on June 13, 2016 for “refusing to appear in the court” last times at summonses by the court’s prosecutor. This summon came up after Mr. Sokha had failed to show up two times consecutively at the summons of the prosecutor to be the witness in a legal case of prostitution that involves a woman known as Khom Chandarati or Srey Mom.

Upon a report by the court, after Sokha’s objection to the summonses, the National Assembly voted in support of the court to continue the legal proceeding in regard of Sokha’s case.

The court’s prosecutor then pursues the case with a charge against Sokha of refusing to appear in the court as a witness under Article 538 of the Criminal Code that states ““Any person who is summoned to testify as witness before a prosecutor or an investigating judge or a criminal court and refuses to appear himself/herself following the summon without any valid reason is punishable by an imprisonment from 1 (one) month to 6 (six) months and a fine from 100,000 (one hundred thousand) Riels ($25) to 1,000,000 (one million) Riels ($250).”
=FRESH NEWS