The Appeals Court on Monday rejected a bail proposal by three foreign Muslims being held on suspicion of terrorist involvement, court officials said.
Appeals Court Judge Pol Neang said Monday that he had turned down the request because the case is still being investigated. He also voiced concern that authorities could not keep track of the suspects. “If we allow them to be released on bail, it will be difficult because they are foreigners and they don’t have exact addresses,” Pol Neang said.
In late May, police closed two Islamic schools and charged Thai Muslims Abdul Azi Haji Chiming, 35, Muhammad Yalaludin Mading, 41, and Egyptian Esam Mohammed Khidr Ali, 40, with terrorist acts linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, the group blamed for last year’s Bali, Indonesia, bombings and the Aug 5 bombing of a Jakarta hotel.
The men’s attorney, Kao Soupha, said by telephone that his clients’ passports had been confiscated, so they could not flee Cambodia. He added that there is no solid evidence against them.
Last month, Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge Oun Bunna said there was not strong enough evidence to try the suspects.
“We cannot use a police report as official documents” of evidence, he said. “These reports would be kicked out by lawyers.”
Authorities have said the arrests were made in cooperation with US investigators.
Kao Soupha said he will appeal the bail ruling today with the Supreme Court.
The three are having problems with meals in prison, as many of them include pork, a meat forbidden by Islam, Kao Soupha said.
