Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that he would push lawmakers to decriminalize defamation, contradicting a recent Justice Ministry order that judges continue to order jail terms for those convicted of the crime.
“We will amend Article 63 of the Untac law, withdraw the prison sentence and keep only the fines,” Hun Sen said at a speech at the Technical School for Medical Care.
“This is part of the reform process of the freedom of expression,” he said, adding that he would immediately submit a replacement law to the Council of Ministers, then to the National Assembly.
Hun Sen also hinted that articles regarding defamation in the country’s new French-written penal code draft, which he slammed in February, were inadequate. The new draft stipulates that defamation may be punishable by jail time, fines or both.
“It is too late to wait for France’s criminal code,” he said.
Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana and President of the Supreme Court Dith Monty released a statement last week instructing judges to continue treating defamation as a serious criminal offense under Article 63.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said that Article 63 will remain in effect until it is formally repealed.
“The law will be changed after the amendment is adopted, not before,” he said.
