Why can’t the Ministry of
Justice intervene when judges such as Keo Mony refuse to act in accordance with
the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure? What is the point of having a Minister
if he cannot see to it that judges within his Ministry obey Cambodian law?
Mu Socua is right, whilst in
this instance there clearly is a political element to Judge Keo Mony’s
decision, I have had the same experience at his hands. In my case it was clear
that Judge Keo Mony’s finding me guilty of ‘threatening to dishonor Citipointe
church’ (an NGO guilty of the illegal of children from their materially poor
families) was not based on any facts or evidence and nor was I invited to
attend the court hearing – despite having been talking with Keo Mony just a
couple of hours beforehand. See two letters below.
Judge Keo Mony and others in
the Phnom Penh Municipal Court who do not conduct their courts in accordance
with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure should be sacked and replaced by
judges who respect and act in accordance with Cambodian law.
Judge
Keo Mony
Phnom
Penh Municipal Court
Criminal
Case number 3730
3rd
April 2014
Dear
Judge Keo Mony
When
I came to your office yesterday morning I knew nothing at all about the
accusations made against me by Citipointe church. I did not know when my case
was to be heard. No-one from the court had informed me.
You
kindly gave me copy of the original
summons that was never delivered to me at my hotel. The proposition that I
threw a bowl at the policeman who tried to serve me with the summons, as I read
in this morning’s newspaper, is nonsense. If I had done so, the policeman would
have been quite justified in arresting me. He did not.
I
had the Summons translated into English but did not receive this until after 2
pm yesterday. The Summons gave no indication of what time I was supposed to be
in court. When you asked me for both of my phone numbers and for my address I
understood that you would be making contact with me regarding this case. It
seems that there has been a misunderstanding.
I
did not find out about the court hearing until 6pm last night when a journalist
contacted me and asked for my response to the verdict.
Could
you please provide me with a copy of all the documents I am entitled to in
relation to this matter. If the newspapers can be in possession of these
documents I, as the defendant, should also be provided with them.
best
wishes
James
Ricketson
Mr Keo Mony
Prosecuting Judge
Phnom Penh Municipal Court
17th April 2014
Dear
Judge
re
Case Number 3730
Citipointe
church versus James Ricketson
I
would like to place on record the following:
(1)
I was not provided with any warrant or summons to let me know that I was due to
attend your court on 12th March.
(2)
I only heard about the 12th March court case the following day when
it was pointed out to me by a journalist that I had failed to attend.
(3)
On 2nd April I attended your office at around 10 am and spoke at
length with you about the failure of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to provide
me with a summons in relation to the 12th March hearing.
(4)
You arranged for me to be provided with a copy of the summons. You asked me for
my address and phone numbers and led me to believe that you would make contact
with me later regarding my case.
(5)
Shortly after I received the summons I took it to be translated from Khmer into
English.
(6)
I received an English translation of the summons mid-afternoon of 2nd.
April.
(7)
At 6pm on 2nd April I received a phone call from a journalist to ask
why I had not appeared in your court at 2pm. I replied that despite speaking
with you at length during the morning you had failed to tell me that I was due
in court at 2pm.
(8)
When I spoke with you the following day (3rd April) in your office
you eventually agreed to allow me to read through and copy out the accusations
leveled at my by Citipointe church. You also informed me that I could appeal
your sentence and file a complaint against Citipointe church.
(9) It was not until one day after you sentenced
me to a two year suspended jail sentence that I learned I had allegedly
‘threatened to dishonour’ Citipointe church.
It was not until 3rd April that I learned I had allegedly
thrown a bowl at the police who tried to serve me with a summons. Did any
police testify that this was so?
(10)
I do not want to appeal the conviction 2nd April conviction. I do
not consider it to be valid and I do not wish to waste my time and money coming
back to Cambodia again to go to court.
(11)
I will be making an application to the Supreme Court of Queensland in Australia
to be provided with copies of the MOUs that Citipointe believes gave the church
the right to remove Rosa and Chita from their family in 2008. I am going to
such lengths because the Phnom Penh Municipal Court refuses to ask the church
to prove that removed the girls in accordance with Cambodian law.
(12) The Phnom Penh Municipal Court clearly does
not care whether the church’s actions in removing Rosa and Chita were legal or
illegal.
(13)
The Cambodian government and the Cambodian legal system do not care if
foreigner NGOs come to your country, illegally remove the children of poor
parents and exploit them to make profits for the NGO. The Cambodian government
and the Cambodian legal system does not care if families are broken up and if
the children of Buddhist parents are forced to become Christians.
Why
do you allow these human rights abuses to occur?
When
I am in possession of the 2008 and 2009 MOUs I will send them to the court.
They will reveal that Citipointe had no legal right to remove the girls in the
manner they did. When the truth is revealed by the MOUs I expect my conviction
to be overturned and for Citipointe to be charged with the ‘illegal removal’ of
Rosa and Chita in 2008 in accordance with Cambodian law.
yours
sincerely
James
Ricketson
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