Paris (FN), Aug. 20 - For the first time, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and deputy chief of National Police Dy Vichea, have filed a separate lawsuit to the French court against Sam Rainsy, former opposition leader in exile, for "public defamation”, according to a press release on 20 August 2019 by the French lawyers defending Prime Minister Hun Sen and Dy Vichea.
The three French lawyers, include Lawyer Brosselet, Lawyer Doyez, and Lawyer Leick.
The premier decided to file a complaint after Sam Rainsy accused Prime Minister of (1) killing former national police chief Hok Lundy; 2) ordering the killing of Chea Vichea and (3) making lies on the cause of death of Hok Lundy.
The press release by the French lawyers for Prime Minister stated that: “Sam Rainsy posted on Facebook and spoke on VOA, crazily accusing Prime Minister of (1) masterminding the killing of former national police chief Hok Lundy; 2) ordering the killing of Chea Vichea and (3) making lies on the cause of death of Hok Lundy. Rainsy accused the premier of lying that Hok Lundy was killed by lightning, while Rainsy said Hun Sen planted the bomb on the helicopter. These are the accusations and defamation made on his Facebook.”
“The French court will have to investigate whether the case is a violation of the right to freedom of expression,” the press release added.
Dy Vichea, the son of Hok Lundy and son-in-law of the premier, also filed a separate complaint after Rainsy stated that Vichea believed that his father was murdered by Prime Minister Hun Sen, thus aims to avenge for his father’s death by orchestrating a plot with Minister of Interior who is in power.
The statement by the French lawyer for Vichea stated: “His Excellency Dy Vichea has sued Sam Rainsy for his Facebook post. Sam Rainsy has wrongly accused Dy Vichea of believing that his father was killed by the premier and has the intention to take revenge by planning a plot with Minister of Interior. The words used by Sam Rainsy “revenge" and "plan" are allegations of Vichea acting illegally to take revenge for the crimes against his father. The accusation by Sam Rainsy has seriously harmed the honor and reputation of Dy Vichea, requiring him to file a complaint to the court.”
On 6 July, Cambodian Minister of Interior Sar Kheng also filed a lawsuit to Cambodian court against Sam Rainsy for incitement that would lead to social insecurity and political instability.
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng demanded the court to punish Sam Rainsy seriously and claimed a compensation of USD 1 million.
"Sam Rainsy’s accusation was made in order to cause disunity among senior leaders of the Royal Government, leading to chaos, social insecurity, and political instability”, Minister Kheng wrote in a lawsuit.
Sam Rainsy wrote on Facebook on 2 June that: “Hun Sen murdered the former police chief Hok Lundy by planting the bomb in the helicopter while he [Lundy] was flying over Svay Rieng province on 9 November 2008.”
“Dy Vichea [Lundy’s son] is thinking about the plan on how to take revenge for his father,” Rainsy said.
“This plan was supported by [Interior Minister] Sar Kheng, as Sar Kheng also knows that Hun Sen is preparing to remove him,” Rainsy added.
Read full press release of French lawyers below:
=FRESH NEWS
