Phnom Penh (FN), July 20 – Suggestions made by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski that there should be involvement of independent experts in investigating the murder of independent analyst Kem Ley was turned down by today, July 20, 2016 by Government’s spokesperson Phay Siphan, saying that is was simply made with political affiliation and not based the legal ground of Cambodia’s constitution and laws.

The visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor told the media yesterday at the U.S. Embassy that he shared a grief at the death of independent analyst Kem Ley and suggested that the government allows for involvement of independents experts in the investigation.

“The suggestion made by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State at the press conference that Cambodia should find independent experts to investigate the murder of Kem Ley was actually, to me, simply a politically affiliated statement and did not reflect a legal perspective,” the spokesperson said.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski was on a two-day visit to Cambodia from July 18 through July 19, 2016.
=FRESH NEWS