Former CNRP President Sam Rainsy said on Thursday that his legal action against Chevron in a U.S. court would continue, despite the oil giant claiming it did not have the security footage from the Phnom Penh Caltex station where political analyst Kem Ley was murdered in July.
Chevron, which owns Caltex, sought to quash Mr. Rainsy’s case after the company responded to his original request for the footage by saying the Cambodian government had confiscated the only copies.
Kem Ley, a frequent government critic, was murdered in broad daylight in what many suspect was a government-sponsored hit.
Mr. Rainsy has called it a “state-sponsored act of terrorism,” which resulted in a 20-month conviction for defamation in March.
Earlier this month, a U.S. district court judge gave Mr. Rainsy a June 29 deadline to file additional documents in the case.
Contacted on Thursday, Mr. Rainsy said the lawsuit “is going on” and that more information would be available in the coming days.
A public records search of documents relating to the case did not turn up any new
filings.
