The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a bail hearing Wednesday for three foreign Muslim teachers held on suspicion of being tied to the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, a court official said Monday.
“In the [hearing], we will consider whether we can release them on bail or not,” Supreme Court prosecutor Chhoun Chantha said.
Thai Muslims Abdul Haji Chiming, 35, Muhammad Yalaludin Mading, 41, and Egyptian Esam Mohammed Khidr Ali, 40, were arrested in May 2003 and have been in prison ever since.
Their attorney, Kao Soupha, said Monday he has complained to the court about his clients’ prolonged detainment.
“I want the court to release my clients on bail,” Kao Soupha said. “The Municipal Court has abused my clients’ rights, so I cannot allow them to continue.”
Cambodian law states that suspects must be tried within six months of having criminal charges brought against them. Otherwise, they should be released.
By way of explaining the lengthy imprisonment, Chhoun Chantha said, “We don’t have the law to detain them more than six months, but the suspects [are jailed] in relation to international crime.”
The three men were to be tried Monday in Phnom Penh Municipal Court, along with Cambodian Cham Muslim Sman Esma El, who has been held on similar charges.
But Judge Ham Mengse, who was to preside, postponed the court date last week after Sman Esma El’s attorney, Nach Try, accused him of bias.
