The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday said it would delay issuing a scheduled verdict against six people tried for intentional violence against police and property damage during an opposition protest on Phnom Penh’s Kbal Thnal overpass in September, saying that the case was very complicated.
Judge Seng Neang was scheduled to announce a verdict on Friday, but pushed the date back a week to February 28.
“This case is complicated, and the court needs thorough consideration, so the court has to delay announcing the verdict until the 28th,” he said. At the September 15 protest, bystander Mao Sok Chan was shot dead by security forces, but nobody was ever held to account for his death.
The six defendants in this month’s court case were charged with violence for allegedly throwing rocks at police, although police called as witnesses in the trial said they could not identify them.
“The court has made no progress in investigating a man’s shooting death, and others who were injured that day,” said Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor at rights group Licadho.
“This case is not complicated as there is no evidence to inculpate the defendants.”
Yin Savath, a lawyer representing the suspects, said his clients should be acquitted as no convincing evidence had been presented.
