David Fletcher claims that he was not in
Cambodia at the time of the alleged rapes – 15th and 22nd
March 2009. The only evidence of this that stood any chance of standing up in a
Cambodian court was to be found in Mr Fletcher’s passport.
Ambassador Mark Kent of the British Embassy
in Bangkok, knowing this to be the case, destroyed Mr Fletcher’s passport and
hence evidence of his innocence.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
has now provided two different explanations as to why and how Mr Fletcher’s valid
passport came to be cancelled and then destroyed. In one version it was a
‘mistake’ and in the other, in accordance with standard Embassy protocols.
Neither version of what happened to the passport withstands close scrutiny.
Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond refuses
to answer any questions at all in relation to Mr Fletcher’s passport. And
Freedom of Information requests for documents relating to the fate of Mr
Fletcher’s passport have been turned down.
On 20th Nov, three weeks after
judges in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court promised Mr Fletcher a ‘re-trial’ they
reversed their decision and said that he was not entitled to one because the
paperwork was not delivered to the court in time.
The woman David Fletcher allegedly raped,
Yang Dany, was sent out of Cambodia by the NGO representing her (Action Pour
Les Enfants) so that she would not be available for cross-examination, had
there been a trial, and not available to speak with the media. She has sent to
China by APLE but there is a suggestion, pure speculation at this point, that
she has been trafficked to China.
How many other men are in jail as a result
of allegations as demonstrably false as those leveled at David Fletcher
perpetrated by APLE? And why is it that the British Embassy provides financial
support to a non government organization (APLE) engaged in the pursuit,
persecution and prosecution of innocent men in order to keep up a high arrest
and incarceration rate?
David Fletcher was on day 21 of a hunger
strike on the day I met him. He saw a glimmer of hope when I began to advocate
on his behalf in September 2014 but that hope has evaporated. He has been
abandoned by the British government and abandoned by human rights organizations
in Cambodia.
At the age of 70 David realizes that he
will not leave jail alive and would prefer is death to come sooner rather than
later.
For anyone interested in how this matter
has unfolded (and with the patience necessary!) should start at #1 and read
through to # 56.
Mr Phillip
Hammond
Foreign
Secretary
Parliamentary House of Commons
London SW1A
5th Dec. 2014
Dear Foreign Minister
Whilst I remain hopeful that he may
change his mind, Mr Fletcher seems determined to end his life in the coming
week. He is concerned about a number of things, as is apparent from the email
he sent this morning to Sue Bennett:
Dear Sue Bennett,
I am sorry to write
to you as nameless persons have said you are no longer dealing with my affairs.
But I cannot write a letter to a nameless person and address it to anonymous.
I am going to die
within the next week Sue, I am naturally very concerned about the documents
promised me under the FOI act.
Naturally I wish to
die with my affairs in order and in good hands. If any documents are delivered
to the prison after my death they will be destroyed or stolen. I have begged
the Phnom Penh embassy for a will, but they appear unable to accommodate my
fears, they do not know what to do. I cannot afford a lawyer to help. Which
leaves me very very concerned as to what is going to happen to my affairs after
my death.
I am also very
concerned about what will happen to my body. I have no objection to cremation,
but what of my ashes? I would ask my remains to be flown back to the uk to be
scattered on my mother's grave in Littleport, Cambridge where I was born.
If you are unable
to assist in my humanitarian request perhaps you would hold all my documents
with my ashes and I will ask my power of attorney Mr James Ricketson to fly
from Australia and collect them from you.
I beg you not to
leave my affairs in the hands of a khmer system.
Regards,
David John Fletcher.
Sue has, by her own admission, been
in possession of the documents requested by Mr Fletcher under FOI legislation
for two months now. In the event that Mr Fletcher dies before the documents are
cleared for delivery, what will happen to them? Will Sue Bennett respect Mr
Fletcher’s oft-repeated request (backed up by a signed letter) that these
documents be given to myself. It is my intention (and it is Mr Fletcher’s
request) that I continue with my attempts to clear his name after his death.
Solving the mystery of precisely what happened to Mr Fletcher’s passport is an
integral part of this process.
As far as Mr Fletcher’s ashes are
concerned, if the British Embassy is unable to accede to his wish that they be
returned to Littleport, Cambridge, I will take them myself. Will the Embassy in
Phnom Penh be able to arrange for his cremation?
best wishes
James Ricketson
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