Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged independent radio station owner Mam Sonando with broadcasting false information and inciting violence for airing listeners’ allegations that the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok had been attacked—the rumor rioters claimed justified their orgy of anti-Thai destruction on Wednesday night.
Mam Sonando was arrested by police officers at his radio station on Thursday and was brought on Friday morning to the courthouse where three charges were filed against him.
He was later taken to Prey Sar prison, the beginning of what could be six months pre-trial detention for the popular and outspoken radio host.
Beehive Radio is now under the control of government workers who are broadcasting Khmer-language tunes and a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen, said Mam Sonando’s wife, Din Phanara.
“I have charged him with three counts: One, broadcasting false information. Two, instigating discrimination. Three, instigating the committing of crime,” Prosecuting Judge Yet Chakriya said after the three-hour questioning session.
Yet Chakriya said a decision on bail was up to the investigating judge to decide.
The rampage of violence follows a recent Cambodian newspaper report that alleged one of Thailand’s top actresses, Suvanant Kongying, had said the Angkor Wat temples really belonged to Thailand.
She has denied the reports.
Rioters on Wednesday night said they also were justified in their violence because of reports circulated on Wednesday that the Cambodian Embassy in Thailand had been attacked and staff members killed.
The report was completely false—spread by text messaging, e-mail and word of mouth among the mob.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said on Thursday that Mam Sonando was being investigated for broadcasting reports of the Cambodian Embassy killings.
‘That’s why these people got angry and attacked the embassy,” Khieu Kanharith said.
Chan Soveth, an investigator with local human rights group Adhoc, said after Mam Sonando’s court appearance that station staff reported the claims of the embassy killing were made by callers to Beehive radio during a live discussion aired on Wednesday.
The tapes of the broadcast are being studied by the UN Center for Human Rights in Phnom Penh, Chan Soveth said.
However, it was Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday who was the first person to have a statement broadcast regarding the alleged claims by the Thai actress.
“The call is from Mr Hun Sen not Mr Mam Sonando,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the court, Mam Sonando said he was detained by police without an arrest warrant.
“They totally violated the rule of law…. They blamed me because people’s opinions were aired on my radio. It affected Thailand, which is linked to the faulty information,” Mam Sonando said.
“I did not understand this. But I’m proud to be in prison for interest of people’s opinion,” he said.
Mam Sonando’s wife, Din Phanara, said at the court that Beehive is currently being run by several officials from the national radio station.
“Those officials control all programs broadcast by Beehive. They canceled all [our] programs, forcing the broadcast of the premier’s statement,” she said.
Khieu Kanharith denied on Friday claims the station has been hijacked by the government.
“We do not control. We just went to look and asked them not to broadcast any bad information. That could throw gasoline on a fire, because the situation has calmed down,” he said.
Mam Sonando was threatened with closure in November by the government, which ordered Beehive Radio to cut its daily three-hours of feeds from Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
The Information Ministry claimed the RFA, VOA blackout was a matter of broadcasting protocol rather than censorship—Beehive had not asked permission to broadcast the material.
The Club of Cambodian Journalist issued a statement on Friday appealing for an investigation into the alleged role of the press in the riots and to find justice for Mam Sonando and En Chan Sivatha—editor of the pro-CPP Rasmei Angkor which published the first story about the Thai actress.
CCJ also called on journalist to refrain from publishing material that could incite further discrimination and attacks.
(Additional reporting Kevin Doyle)
