A member of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, the highest legal body charged with overseeing the conduct of Cambodia’s courts, said Tuesday that a decision has been made to remove two Phnom Penh Municipal Court judges.
The magistrate, who declined to be named, said that investigating judges Hing Thirith and Oun Bunna were to be reassigned, but an official announcement will not be made until next month.
“But it is not official yet because we did not find out where these people should be transferred. These people have committed many mistakes,” he said.
Both judges have served as investigating judges in recent high-profile and controversial cases.
On Friday, Hing Thirith dismissed charges against two men being held for the killing of union leader and Sam Rainsy Party activist Chea Vichea on account of a lack of evidence.
Though the criminal investigation has been harshly criticized by human rights groups and the opposition party, police officials remain adamant that the two suspects are guilty. Hing Thirith’s dismissal of charges was immediately challenged by Municipal Court Prosecutor Khut Sokheng.
Last August, Oun Bunna was also the center of controversy when he said that there was not enough evidence against three foreign Muslims and one Cambodian Cham who are accused of plotting terrorist attacks linked to the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.
The four suspects have been imprisoned several months longer than the legal six-month pre-trial detention period, and their recent court appearance was thrown into chaos when the trial judge summarily changed the charges against them.
Real Muon, the Supreme Council’s secretary-general, declined to confirm or deny the claims that Hing Thirith and Oun Bunna had been dismissed.
“The Supreme Council of Magistracy meeting is a secret,” he said Tuesday.
However, the magistrate who requested anonymity insisted Tuesday that the decision to remove Hing Thirith and Oun Bunna had nothing to do with controversial legal cases or judicial reform efforts.
“It is a necessity, and it is common practice in the government system,” he said.
Interviewed at the Municipal Court on Tuesday, Hing Thirith said he had heard about the Supreme Council’s decision to remove him, but he had not received official notification.
He said that he would appeal to King Norodom Sihanouk to investigate the decision.
Oun Bunna, also speaking at the courthouse on Tuesday, called the Supreme Council’s decision unjust and baseless, but added that he will not complain before it is made official.
“I have a certificate of law,” Oun Bunna said. “I am not here by appointment like the old judges.”
Oun Bunna said he had received several anonymous warnings by telephone telling him not to talk to the press too often.
“But I think that our country is democratic, so I tell reporters what I can” without affecting the outcome of a case, he said.
Both Hing Thirith and Oun Bunna hold law degrees and
are considered part of the younger generation of Cambodian judges.
According to the magistrate the decision to remove the two judges will likely be made offi-
cial at the Supreme Council’s
next meeting scheduled for April 19.
The Constitution charges King Sihanouk with presiding over the Supreme Council of Magistracy, a duty he has repeatedly voiced his distaste for.
When the King is abroad, as he was Monday, Senate President and CPP President Chea Sim assumes this role as the acting Head of State in the King’s absence.
