PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — An Australian filmmaker on trial in Cambodia on charges of endangering national security defended himself Thursday under cross-examination, declaring the evidence shows he is a journalist, not a spy or political operative.
James Ricketson was arrested in June last year after he used a drone to film a rally of an opposition political party ahead of local elections. The charge against him is tantamount in legal terms to espionage, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He said in Thursday’s testimony that his filming of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was strictly journalism, and that video and messages presented as evidence by the prosecution were the products of journalism, not spying.
Read the full story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/australian-on-trial-in-cambodia-testifies-he-is-not-a-spy/2018/08/23/a7fb0a46-a6cb-11e8-ad6f-080770dcddc2_story.html
