After a discouraging day in court Friday, inspectors from the environmental watchdog Global Witness fear they could be sentenced to prison if convicted of trespassing on property belonging to a logging company, the group said Saturday.
Logging company Everbright CIG Wood Co Ltd filed a complaint in Kandal provincial court accusing Jon Buckrell and Marcus Hardtke, two of Global Witness’ five inspectors in the country, of trespassing. The maximum sentence for trespassing is two years in prison.
During Friday’s preliminary hearing in Kandal court, “Global Witness inspectors were told that ‘mistakes made’ during their Jan 12 inspection of the Everbright plywood factory could lead them to being charged under Article 57 of the Untac law,” a Global Witness release states. Global Witness routinely conducts inspections as part of monitoring logging in Cambodia.
Article 57, on the “Infringement of Individual Rights,” is meant to protect “the rights of physical integrity and the inviolability of the home” from infringement by “any public agents, including police or military agents.”
“We have consulted UN lawyers and they say the Untac law concerns potential abuses by government officials, in particular the police and the military,” Buckrell said in the statement. “The law simply does not apply in this case.”
Kandal court Prosecutor Chheng Phat said Thursday the Global Witness inspectors also could be charged under Article 20 of the Untac law, which relates to legal searches of property. There is no punishment provided under that article.
A letter from Everbright to the Council of Ministers, signed by company official Wang Yue Mui, accuses Global Witness of “intentional and impudent behavior” and disrupting production.
“We are angry about their contemptuous behavior against Cambodia law and strongly request the related bodies of the government to investigate this case and stop their violations immediately,” the Everbright letter stated.
The letter states that the company wants to halt “illegal” inspections, and seeks an open apology in the media and compensation for losses.
But Untac’s Article 57 is a criminal code, and has no provisions for apologies or compensation for losses.
The accusations come as Global Witness is preparing for the biannual donor-government meeting, which begins today.
In a report prepared for the meeting, Global Witness accuses Everbright of logging infractions in both its Kratie province concession and its Kandal province plywood factory.
Everbright’s trespassing charges stem from an inspection of a Kien Svay district plywood factory. Global Witness officials were not allowed entry and were “detained by security guards for six hours,” until officials from the Department of Forestry and Wildlife arrived, Buckrell said.
The company maintains the inspectors arrived “without any notification and admittance paper of the company,” and stayed “impolitely” near the front door until 6 pm, according to Everbright’s letter.
Eventually, the letter states, the inspectors were let into the factory after four more men claiming to be from the Forestry Department arrived.
(Additional reporting by Van Roeun)
