Senator Hong Sok Hour was questioned without a lawyer on Friday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over a case against opposition leader Sam Rainsy involving a video posted to his Facebook page showing a doctored treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam.
Mr. Sok Hour, a senator for the legacy Sam Rainsy Party, was arrested and imprisoned in August over the fake document, which purported to show the post-Khmer Rouge socialist government agreeing to dissolve Cambodia’s border with Vietnam.
In November, charges were laid against Mr. Rainsy—already living in exile to avoid a prison sentence on a separate defamation conviction—for being an accomplice to Mr. Sok Hour’s alleged forgery and incitement.
The senator, who presented the document in a video on Mr. Rainsy’s Facebook page, was summoned for questioning by Investigating Judge Kor Vandy on Friday as a witness in the case against Mr. Rainsy, according to his lawyer, Sam Sokong, who was not allowed to take part in the one-hour session.
“I think that the court not inviting the lawyer to accompany Mr. Sok Hour is not correct, even though he was questioned as a witness, because…he may give answers that inculpate himself,” Mr. Sokong said.
Judge Vandy could not be reached for comment. His clerk, Sun Pet, confirmed that Mr. Sok Hour had been questioned.
