A Kampot provincial judge Thursday sentenced a former CPP commune chief and his alleged henchman to 17 years in prison for the shooting deaths of a Funcinpec activist and his wife.
Human rights groups applauded the conviction, but said the court should have acknowledged the political nature of the killings.
Judge Kim Ravy handed down the sentences after finding former Lboeuk commune chief Im Nan and Rith Kha guilty of murder and using an illegal weapon in the June 3, 2000, shooting deaths of Pak Chhoeun and his wife, Doung Mean.
The judge also convicted Kem Ham and Svay Ran in absentia, sentencing Kem Ham to 15 years in prison and Svay Ran to 12 years in prison.
Authorities have issued two arrest warrants for the pair, who may have fled to the Thai border, police said. The judge ordered all four men to pay the family 6 million riel in restitution.
Months before his death, Pak Chhoeun, identified in court papers as Khuon Chhoeun, had been nominated to run in the commune elections, now scheduled for early 2002. Human rights groups said the killings were meant to silence a political opponent.
The shootings were the only homicides in Cambodia last year that the US State Department classified as political killings in its annual human rights report.
A Western diplomat Thursday said the verdict and sentences were a “good signal” that the government is committed to reforming its political and judicial systems.
“This does represent an important act, not just words, in dealing with the issue of impunity before the commune elections. This was a test of the government’s commitment to reform,” the diplomat said.
Three gunmen carrying semiautomatic weapons and wearing flashlights strapped to their heads stalked Pak Chhoeun and Doung Mean as they slept in a rice paddy about 10 km from their home, police said.
Rith Kha fired the fatal shots from an AK-47 rifle, police said after the trial. Three bullets hit Pak Chhoeun’s head.
During a full day of testimony Monday, two men—one a soldier and the other a police officer—testified that in the months before the killings, Im Nan had given each of them a rifle and 100,000 riel (approximately $25), ordering them to wait for Pak Chhoeun in his rice fields. Im Nan added that they should kill anyone who was with Pak Chhoeun, the men said.
The men testified that they waited for Pak Chhoeun for several days, but gave up when he did not appear.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement from its New York headquarters praising the verdict, but criticizing officials for downplaying the political aspect of the slayings during the one-day trial. Officials attributed the killings to a personal dispute involving “black magic.”
“Without recognition of the political underpinnings of the crime, the deterrent impact of Im Nan’s conviction is going to be lost,” the statement quoted Human Rights Watch official Sidney Jones as saying.
Adhoc human rights monitor Yi Kosalvathanak echoed Human Rights Watch’s concerns.
“We appreciate the Kampot court for their decision, but what disappointed us was the absence of focus on the political aspect of the killing. We are very sorry that the trial did not take the political motivation into account,” Yi Kosalvathanak said.
But General Sau Phan, deputy director general of the national police, defended his unit’s investigation, saying there was “no evidence” pointing to a politically motivated murder.
Even if politics played a role in the slayings, it was probably because of the simple beliefs of the people in the area, Sau Phan said.
“In the remote areas in Cambodia, people still believe in black magic, and they still worship spirits. If this was a political killing, it was not by national party order but because of Im Nan’s ignorance.
“Not even senior government officials understand the commune election law pretty well. So how is a commune official to know it?” the general said.
Judge Kim Ravy said the high-profile nature of the case and the political implications of it did not sway his judgment.
“Since I took this case, there has been no pressure to do anything. What I decided was within my rights,” he said.
