# 171 Cambodian judiciary. Has much changed in the last 20 years?

I received the following from an anonymous source. It is much too long to publish as a comment, but worth publishing in its entirety, I think, for reasons that will become apparent:

APLE's Business model is nothing new, nor is Licadho's part in that game. Nothing has changed in APLE's and the CWCCs Business Model and the Judges are only too happy to comply.

It's July 1995:

Dr.Gavin Scott a highly professional specialist on tropical diseases, and gay, was targeted by LICADHO, APLE's closest business partner:

Lawyer hits out at Scott case "farce"

1 post by 1 author

Laura Summers    

7/18/95

The following article is posted in seasia-l and in soc.culture.cambodia

with the permission of Michael Hayes, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the

Phnom Penh Post and with the consent of the author.

[NOTE:  The reference in the article to a decision ultimately being taken in high places is an allusion to statements made about the Scott case on July 4th by First Prime Minister Ranariddh.  Ranariddh said that if the charges against Scott were "valid", then "it's a severe offence against our nation and...we absolutely do not allow our Kingdom of Cambodia to become a sex (tourist destination".  Ranariddh also said that if Scott was prosecuted, "the prosecution should serve as an example".  In a separate statement, the Ministry of Interior revealed that Licadho--the Cambodian League for the Defence and Promotion of Human Rights--acting on behalf of the children involved, filed the complaints against Scott. --ljs]

Phnom Penh Post, July 14 - 27, 1995

Headline:  Lawyer hits out at Scott case "farce"

Byline: Jason Barber

All rights:  Jason Barber

A foreign lawyer trying to represent Gavin Scott says the British doctor's

prosecution has become a "political tug of war" with little prospect of a

fair trial.  "I'm not sure I'm prepared to legitimize what is a farce by

trying to give this guy a defense," said Robert Carlin on July 10, after

repeatedly being denied official approval to represent Scott.

At press time, Scott--charged with raping boys--had been in T3 Prison for three weeks without a defender to represent him.

Carlin said Khmer defenders were "running like mice before a tomcat" from taking Scott's case, but he doubted whether any lawyer would be able to do much anyway.

"I don't know that if Jesus Christ were his lawyer, it would change the outcome.  That doesn't mean that he is going to lose, but that the final decision will be made from high up.  I don't want to be the blush on the rotten apple," said Carlin, who was debating whether to drop the case.

Carlin alleged that Scott had consistently been denied access to a lawyer--violating his rights under Untac law--in police custody and later in prison.  He said that was enough to warrant Scott's immediate release from prison under the law--but Scott had no lawyer to apply for his release.

       

Carlin said he had three times asked the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for approval to jointly represent Scott with a Khmer defender but had been rebuffed.  He said he had twice been turned away from T3 Prison when trying to see Scott.  He had got inside, with other visitors to Scott, on two occasions.

       

These were not "lawyer-client" private meetings because other people had been present.

       

The only other time he saw Scott was when the doctor first appeared in court on June 23, and was charged with rape.  The charge followed a complaint to police--relating to child prostitution, not rape--by NGOs which had testimonies from five children, aged 14 and 15, against him.

       

Whether Carlin can represent Scott is unclear.  A recent law bars foreigners from representing criminal defendants, though they can advise Khmer lawyers.  Carlin, an English-born former US public defender who arrived in Cambodia a month ago, was asked by a friend of Scott to represent the doctor.  He has been trying, unsuccessfully, to find a Khmer defender to help represent Scott.

       

Both the Cambodian Defenders Project (CDP) and the Cambodian Defenders Association (CADEAS) have refused his requests for help.  CDP interim director Karen Tse told the POST that its refusal related to an apparent conflict of interest it had because of contact with the human rights group Licadho--one of the NGOs which laid the Scott complaint.

       

"It appears a conflict of interest may have been created at the onset of the case," Tse said.  "Licadho...requested from a previous CDP interim director that one of our defenders be presently reviewing these events in order to determine whether the CDP is precluded from representing Dr Scott in this matter."

       

A CADEAS spokesman, meanwhile, told the POST that his staff did not have the legal experience and English language proficiency needed to take on Scott's case.  Carlin had asked the British Embassy to help ensure Scott had a lawyer.  He said he did not know what help would usually be given in such cases, but "frankly, their level of aggression and approach to this is sorely lacking."

       

He had also unsuccessfully approached the United Nations Center for Human Rights.

       

Carlin was most critical of Lichado, saying:  "I think that someone needs to check their mandate.  I have a huge problem with human rights groups, both overtly and covertly, abrogating this guy's rights.  It's no secret that the police were ready to release Dr. Scott for lack of evidence until someone from Licadho jumped up and down and that decision was miraculously revoked.  I find that bitterly ironic...This guy has rights too, and the ends do not justify the means."

       

He objected to Licadho having housed three of the child complainants against Scott, saying that allowed the opportunity for "manipulation" of them.  He alleged one of the children had boasted to an employee of Scott's about how he was being housed and well-fed by Licadho.

"When you're dealing with a street kid, giving them a bed in a nice air-conditioned room--that could be a pretty good incentive [to make allegations]."  Carlin said the charge of rape against Scott was "ludicrous."

       

Told that the initial complaint against Scott related to paying underage children for sex, not rape, he said:  "I don't know the ages of these kids or how old they look.  I cannot responsibly answer that question."  He said that while NGOs had "made their point" about pedophilia in Cambodia, Scott had been "hung out to dry because he is also a soft target."

       

"I think that nobody, including Dr Scott, would deny there is a [pedophile] problem but he's not the problem.  It doesn't make any sense to make a scapegoat of someone...while the people who are the real problem are still walking around."

       

Licadho spokeswoman Naly Pilorge said Scott was "absolutely entitled" to a defense and she had believed that he had a Khmer defender "from day one."  She later said that Phnom Penh Court had confirmed that Scott had a defender.  That defender, however, told the POST he was not representing Scott and the British Embassy knew that.  Pilorge said Licadho's mandate included ensuring all people--defendents and

victims--have access to legal representation.  But in Scott's case, Licadho would have a conflict of interest if it interfered with the appointment of a defender for him.

       

On the issue of the police almost releasing Scott, she said Licadho had believed the court was in the best position to assess the evidence.  It had been the court's decision to charge and detain Scott.  Pilorge said Licadho had housed three of the five complainants at its offices, until other NGOs had arranged to accommodate them.

       

"The first priority had to be protecting the children, which is different than  protecting adults. [As published. --ljs]   We couldn't just send them back on the streets.  Attempts were made to get government involvement in caring for these children.  Now other NGOs are doing that. We don't even know where the children are."

       

The children had been given no money, only a room to sleep in, food and basic clothes.  Licadho would never offer any inducement of any kind to anyone to give false information, she said.

       

"There is an implication that because they are Khmer and they are street children these children are not to be believed.  These are not kids who are comfortable.  These are abused kids who are scared and don't know what's going to happen to them.  We have seen the evidence; we believe the children and the courts should be left to give him a fair trial."

NOTE: Gavin Scott was found to be not guilty.

COMING UP:

Gavin Scott’s thoughts about the ‘age of consent’