Dear Samleang Seila
The two men purporting to be policemen, have not reappeared in the foyer of my hotel bearing a document from you.
Perhaps you did not send them at all and someone is being mischievous in attributing their arrival to yourself!
Having pretty much admitted that APLE does not believe David Fletcher raped Yang Dany, perhaps you would like to write to the Minister for Justice (as Mr Fletcher has, see below) requesting that he be provided with a trial held in accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure?
Yes, there is the potential for huge embarrassment for APLE (and others) if he is found to be not guilty but the alternative (a man denied a fair trail dying in jail) is not going to look good on your curriculum vitae and I would have thought not good for you either from a karmic point of view.
If you really believe that Mr Fletcher deserves 10 years in jail because he got some paperwork in late to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, argue this in court in front of the general public and media.
cheers
James
”At any time during a judicial investigation, the charged person may
ask the investigating judge to interrogate him, question a civil party or
witness, conduct a confrontation or visit a site. The request shall be in
writing with a statement of reasons. If the investigating judge does not grant the
request, he shall issue a rejection order within one month after receiving the
request. This order shall state the reasons. The Prosecutor and the charged
person shall be notified of the order without delay.”
The two men purporting to be policemen, have not reappeared in the foyer of my hotel bearing a document from you.
Perhaps you did not send them at all and someone is being mischievous in attributing their arrival to yourself!
Having pretty much admitted that APLE does not believe David Fletcher raped Yang Dany, perhaps you would like to write to the Minister for Justice (as Mr Fletcher has, see below) requesting that he be provided with a trial held in accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure?
Yes, there is the potential for huge embarrassment for APLE (and others) if he is found to be not guilty but the alternative (a man denied a fair trail dying in jail) is not going to look good on your curriculum vitae and I would have thought not good for you either from a karmic point of view.
If you really believe that Mr Fletcher deserves 10 years in jail because he got some paperwork in late to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, argue this in court in front of the general public and media.
cheers
James
From:
Mr David John Fletcher
PJ Prison
Phnom Penh
To
Mr Ang Vong Vathana
Minister of Justice
Samdech Sothearos Road
Sangkat Chaktomouk
Daun Penh
20th November 2015
Dear Mr Ang Vong Vathana
I apologize
that I am writing to you in English. As I am in jail it has not been possible
for me to have this letter translated into Khmer.
My name is David John Fletcher. I am in PJ prison
in Phnom Penh.
In 2011 I was found to guilty of rape by three
judges in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Since I was arrested in Thailand in June 2010, I
have never been interviewed by the Cambodian police in relation to the charges
brought against me. I have never been interviewed by an investigating judge and
have never had an opportunity to defend myself in court.
If I were to be found guilty of rape on the basis
of evidence presented to a court, having had an opportunity to present evidence
in my defense, I would accept this verdict. I have been denied the opportunity
present evidence in my defense for more than five years now. The trial held in
2011, ‘in camera’ was one that I did not know was taking place until
afterwards, when I was shown a press report. I was found guilty despite the
fact that the young woman I had supposedly raped was found, by the Phnom Penh
Municipal Court, to be a virgin.
I now wish to request of the Supreme Court that I
be provide with the trial I have been asking for for 5 years now; a trial held
in accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure. I am 71 years old
and in poor health and would respectfully request that a date be set for my
Supreme Court hearing as soon as possible.
Following are the reasons why I believe, in
accordance with the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure, I am entitled to a
trial at which I am present and able to present a defense:
Article 44. Opening of Judicial
Investigation
“In the case
of a felony, the Prosecutor shall open a judicial investigation. The judicial
investigation shall be based upon the initial submission provided to the
investigating judge. The initial submission (to be prepared by the Prosecutor)
includes: A summary of the facts….
The initial submission shall be dated and signed.
These formalities shall be strictly complied with or the initial submission
shall be void.”
I have never been interviewed by an investigating judge. I was
never presented with a signed and dated summary of the facts before my trial. I
did not know about my trial until it was completed.
Article
93. Interrogation Records
“For each interrogation,
a written record shall be established. The written record shall be an accurate
account of the interrogated person’s responses. The interrogated person shall
sign or affix his finger-print to each page of the written record.”
I
was not provided with copies of signed statements by Yang Dany and her mother Kheang
Sekun. Nor have I ever been interviewed by an investigating judge.
Article 124. Introductory Submissions
“In compliance
with Article 44 (Commencement of Judicial Investigation) of this Code, a
judicial investigation is opened by the introductory submission of the Royal
Prosecutor….An investigating judge may not conduct any investigative acts in
the absence of an introductory submission.”
I
was not provided with a copy of this ‘introductory submission’? If there was no
‘introductory submission’, no investigation could have taken place in
accordance with Cambodian law.
Article 127. Investigation of Inculpatory
and Exculpatory Evidence
“An
investigating judge, in accordance with the law, performs all investigations
that he deems useful to ascertaining the truth. An investigating judge has the obligation to
collect inculpatory as well as exculpatory evidence.”
No
investigating or trial judge, no policeman, no member of the Anti-Human
Trafficking unit has ever asked me to present exculpatory evidence in support
of my insistence that I am not guilty. I have never been provided with an
opportunity to defend myself in court.
Article 133. Investigative Actions
Requested by Charged Persons
”At any time during a judicial investigation, the charged person may
ask the investigating judge to interrogate him, question a civil party or
witness, conduct a confrontation or visit a site. The request shall be in
writing with a statement of reasons. If the investigating judge does not grant the
request, he shall issue a rejection order within one month after receiving the
request. This order shall state the reasons. The Prosecutor and the charged
person shall be notified of the order without delay.”
Prior
to my 2011 trial I was never informed that I had a legal right to ask the
investigating judge to interrogate me or to question witnesses in my defense. Please excuse me for repeating myself but I
did not even know that a trial was taking place.
Article 143. Notification of Placement
under Judicial Investigation
“When a
charged person appears for the first time, the investigating judge shall check
his identity, inform him of the imputed act and its legal qualification, and
receive his statement after informing him of the right to remain silent. This
notification shall be mentioned in the written record of the first appearance.”
I
have never been informed of my right to remain silent? I have never appeared
before an investigating judge to answer questions? Not once, in more than five years.
Article 126. Placing Suspect under
Judicial Investigation
“The
investigating judge shall inform the charged person of his rights to choose a
lawyer or to have a lawyer appointed according to the Law on the Bar.”
I
was never informed by an investigating judge of my right to either choose a
lawyer or have one appointed? I was not aware that a trial was taking place
until after it had been completed and I had been found guilty?
Article 145. Presence of Lawyer
during Interrogation
“When a
charged person has a lawyer, the investigating judge shall summons the lawyer
at least five days before the interrogation takes place. During that period,
the lawyer may examine the case file. A charged person can be interrogated only
in the presence of his lawyer.”
As
I had no lawyer it was not possible for the investigating judge summon him 5
days before an interrogation. No interrogation has ever taken place. Such an
interrogation would have been difficult as I was being held in prison in
Thailand at the time.
Article 206. Statement of Charged Persons
and Reasons for Provisional Detention
“The
investigating judge who orders the provisional detention of a charged person
shall issue an order containing reasons. The investigating judge’s reasons in
the order shall be based on the provisions of Article 205 (Reasons for
Provisional Detention) of this Code. The Royal Prosecutor and the charged
person shall be immediately notified of the decision.”
I
was not notified of the reasons why I was charged prior to the 2011 trial held
in my absence.
Article
247. Closing Order
“If the judge
considers that the facts constitute a felony, a misdemeanor or a petty offense,
he shall decide to indict the charged person before the trial court. The order
shall state the facts being charged and their legal qualifications.”
I
have never been provided with an order that states the facts relating to the
charges made against me.
Article 252. Mandatory Rules
“128
(Assistance of Court Clerks) of this Code.
Proceedings shall also be null and void if the
violation of any substantial rule or procedure stated in the Code or any
provisions concerning criminal procedure affects the interests of the concerned
party. Especially, rules and procedures which intend to guarantee the rights of
the defense have a substantial nature.”
I
believe that many violations of the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure have
occurred and that I am entitled, in accordance with Cambodian law, to a
re-trial. This will be my request of the
Supreme Court.
Article
305. Appearance of Accused upon Indictment
“According to
Article 249 (Provisions of Closing Orders in Relation to Provisional Detention
and Judicial Supervision) of this Code, the order to keep the accused in
provisional detention will expire after four months. If the accused has not
been brought before the court within this period, the accused shall be
automatically released. A
judgment on the merits of the case shall be made within a reasonable time
period.”
I
have been in jail for more than five years now, unable to unable to present a
defense to the Phnom Penh Municipal court.
Article 316. Public Nature of Trial
Hearing and Confidentiality
“Trial
hearings shall be conducted in public. However, the court may order a complete or partial
in-camera hearing, if it considers that a public hearing will cause a
significant danger to the public order or morality.”
Given
that the young woman who claimed I had raped her was 18 years old at the time
of the trial I find it difficult to understand in what way a trial open to the
media and the public was likely to cause a significant danger to the public
order or morality?
Article 318. Establishment of Order in
Hearing
“The presiding
judge shall conduct and lead the trial hearing. The presiding judge shall
guarantee the free exercise of the right to defense.”
As
I was not in court on the day of the trial I did not have free exercise of my
right to a defense.
Article 321. Evidence Evaluation by Court
“Unless it is
provided otherwise by law, in criminal cases all evidence is admissible. The
court has to consider the value of the evidence submitted for its examination,
following the judge’s intimate conviction….The judgment of the court may be based only on the
evidence included in the case file or which has been presented at the hearing.”
For
more than five years now I have been unable to present to any Cambodian court
evidence in defense of my claim that I did not rape Yang Dany in March 2009.
Article 325. Interrogation of Accused
“The presiding
judge shall inform the accused of the charges that he is accused of and conduct
the questioning of the accused. The presiding judge shall ask any questions
which he believes to be conducive to ascertaining the truth. The presiding
judge has a duty to ask the accused both inculpatory and exculpatory questions.”
At
no time did the presiding judge inform me of the charges that had been laid
against me. At no time did the presiding
judge question me. I was in jail in Thailand at the time of the trial.
I submit to you,
Minister, that there have been sufficient breaches of the Cambodian Code of
Criminal Procedure to warrant that I be granted a Supreme Court hearing at the
soonest possible date.
Yours
respectfully
David John
Fletcher
Dear Mr. Fletcher!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you will get a fair trial soon and I feel sorry for belonging to a society that has been so brainwashed and paranoid that it refuses to give people like you a fair trial. Unfortunately you are not the only one who is sent to prison without a fair trial or being set up by APLE. With the help of Mr. Ricketson you have got a voice, what about the other prisoners who are incarcerated on fabricated evidence? You probably know who they are. I am just thinking that it could have more impact if their voices appears on this blog too.
Thanks blogger Nov 29 at 6.22 for an intelligent comment. I agree with what you say.
DeleteI have considered myself very lucky indeed to have James exposing the injustice and corruption that has been the main ingredients of my case. And of course the whole charade, with no compliance of Cambodian law at all, which in itself tells you how safe a conviction is in this country.
I obviously have only had experience with the Thai courts and Cambodian courts. Of course the big mouths will say, what about my previous mistake in the UK? Well the difference there of course, I actually had a fair trial according to UK law and a Judge that listened to what I had to say and examined all evidence very carefully, very unlike here.
Of course in Asia we have a different agenda, similar good laws, but the system choses to ignore its own laws and goes its own way, or somebody elses way with financial or status clout.
There was very little difference between Thailand and Cambodia, I was not allowed to make a statement in my defense, the judge in Thailand was the same agenda of Cambodia, on the one occasion i was asked a question by the judge, I was not allowed to give a comprehensive and correct answer. I am often warned by officials not to tell the truth! Make what you will of that one!
To answer your main question I would recommend you glance back at James blog #77 , which gives a very good comprehensive survey of prisoners, by prisoners, of their experience with the police and justice system. None of their points I would argue with at all.
Of course i have talked with other prisoners concerning their experience with the Asian so called justice system, which in itself is a contradiction in terminology. Nothing to do with innocence or guilt, I am not ready to judge anyone on that after my experience. But all tell the same as my story, so where do you go from there, when APLE and CCF Scott Neeson own the media and just about everyone else they wish to frame, as evidence here is what you pay for it to be. Of course all the alleged crimes are not of a sexual nature, but they all get the same treatment as I have experienced.
I wish I knew the answer, I will fight to my death against this corruption, most will not!
I talked to a very wise man one day about corruption, poor justice, police and military, all this was in a very different part of the world. He was high ranking, I asked him why he thought things were so bad and corruption was the norm. He replied, David, the public get what they deserve, they are the ones that vote the corruption in! He was right!
David Fletcher
So Fletcher - as per your post above you have stated that you received a fair trial in the UK and as a result of this fair trial you were convicted of raping an underage girl. You, as per our own admission, are therefor known as child sex offender. And yet, after this conviction, you still didnt learn and once again targeted a young and vulnerable girl. Now lets grant you your statement that you didn't rape Dany. However you did to your admission and hers, lock both of you in a room, removed your clothes and tried to force yourself on her. This is considered false imprisonment and sexual assault. Now knowing that you are a convicted child sex offender in the UK and that you have once again acted in a manner of a predatory sex offender, I would suggest that were there is smoke there is fire and even though the courts may of stuffed up there rape charges against you in Cambodia, there is every chance that if this had not happened, you would of based on history, eventually preyed on a young underage girls and raped them.
DeleteDear Neeson/APLE Troll
Delete(1) Mr Fletcher was charged with, and found guilty of, 'statutory rape' of a consenting 15 year old girl.
(2) On the basis of what evidence do you state that Mr Fletcher "targeted a young and vulnerable girl"?
(3) Where has Mr Fletcher ever admitted that he locked Yang Dany in a room and removed her clothes?
Given that you are wrong in your assumptions here, your presumption that Mr Fletcher would have "eventually preyed on young underage girls and raped them" is nonsense.
Are you really as stupid as your writing suggests or are you pretending? I hope the latter!
Ricketson - it was already admitted that Fletcher locked Dany in a room and tried to force himself on her. And the sick thing is that you continually think that statutory rape is ok. Its ok everyone - its only statutory rape but its not really rape. I just raped a girl who was too young to make an informed decision - in other words Fletcher preys on people who are vulnerable. You can twist all you like Ricketson but the reality is Fletcher is a child sex offender and its very worrying that you think he is a stand up guy.
DeleteDear Neeson/APLE Troll
DeleteWhere was it admitted that Mr Fletcher locked Yang Dany in a room?
Who admitted it?
Where have I ever said that statutory rape is OK?
What I have said is that statutory rape with a consenting teenager is quite different to forced sex with a non-consenting woman. You choose not to make this distinction because it serves your propagandist purposes.
I have never said that Mr Fletcher is a 'stand up' guy. What I have said all along, and I'll say it again because you seem to be a bit slow on the uptake, guilty or innocent Mr Fletcher is entitled to a fair trial. He has been denied one for five years now.
If Mr Fletcher were to be found guilty of rape in a properly constituted court, one that adhered to the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure, one in which he is able to present a defence, I would have no problem at all with the verdict.
It is fundamental to the idea of justice that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Fortunately, in much of the world this principle prevails. In the world that you inhabit, a man found guilty of one crime must, by definition, be guilty of every crime thereafter of which he is accused.
She was a child and as such can't make an informed decision - thats why the law is there to protect young boys and girls from predators like Fletcher. Propagandist purposes - are you smoking drugs again - the only propaganda here is the fact that you believe the story of a convicted child sex offender over numerous respectable people. You are a sick dog Ricketosn and you need to be put down before you yourself preys on a young girl - which from I have heard is what you have done several times before.
Deletei think it doubtful that anyone ever came to ricketsons hotel, the story which has grown so stale without any news was in dire need of a dramatic boost and i think ricketson made all this nonsense up for spectacular value
ReplyDeleteRight on, Anon 10.07. Rickets is clutching at straws. No-one reads this horseshit so he needs to create some drama to pull them in. Pathetic loser.
DeleteDear Team Neeson/APLE Troll (aka 10.07)
DeleteI know that thinking is not a strong suit of yours but you should try it sometimes. It can actually be a quite satisfying experience!
If I had made up the story about the two men coming to my hotel, saying that they were policemen, such a lie could very easily be exposed. Anyone (you, for instance) could go and speak with the Manager of the hotel and either have the story confirmed or denied. If the latter, you could get on here and crow about it and use it as evidence that nothing I write can be believed.
I would be surprised if there isn't someone looking hard for evidence that I have lied or played fast and loose with the truth. this is as it should be.
The Manager of the hotel recognised one of the men as a local policeman, but not the other. Given that neither man smiled or even made an attempt to be friendly (as Cambodian policemen usually are, in my experience) I presume that someone sent them with the express purpose of intimidating me. That they announced they were there on behalf of Samleang Seila does not necessarily mean that they were, I guess. In Cambodia things are very often not what they appear to be!
It's clear now that the B...shit hearsay Trolls that claimed an arrest of James Ricketson would happen within 3 days, a Lawyer preparing a case against him etc. are probably the ones that paid the 2 khmer posing as Police in the Hotel Lobby of Ricketson's Hotel. All that to intimidate Ricketson and cause paranoia.
ReplyDeleteSince he or both posting here anonymously using TOR or equivalent anonymizing software in order not to be held accountable of their treads it is clear of what kind of gutter guru's we're dealing with. If that's the only reaction the NGO Industry in Cambodia, and APLE and Licadho in particular can come up with you know they're in dire straits themself.
Great to have a guy like Ricketson to not cave in to these village idiots and stay put and wait....
You fuckwit - why would anyone pay money to 2 khmer men and ask them to go and sit in foyer of a hotel for 20 minutes in the hope that it will intimidate Ricketson? Seriously you Ricketson lovers are delusional.
DeleteBoth the victims of real sex crimes and the alleged perpetrators of these crimes are subject to the vagaries of a corrupt criminal justice system as this report from Licadho makes clear:
ReplyDeleteGetting Away With It: The Treatment of Rape in Cambodia's Justice System
Published on November 29, 2015
Enlarge this picture
Today, to mark the global campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which began on November 25 and runs until December 10, LICADHO is publishing a new report Getting Away With It: The Treatment of Rape in Cambodia’s Justice System. The report presents evidence of the immense failure of the Cambodian justice system to properly investigate and prosecute cases of rape involving women and children. It provides details of multiple systemic flaws – corruption, discriminatory attitudes towards women and girls, misinterpretation of the law, and lack of resources – which, together, mean that many perpetrators of rape receive only very lenient punishment or go completely unpunished.
OK, so Licadho is publishing a report. Licadho publishes lots of reports. Is Licadho fighting these cases hard in court or just writing about how someone should fight them hard in court? There will be no justice for the genuine victims of rape for as long as the Cambodian judiciary is corrupt. There will be no justice for David Fletcher for as long as the Cambodian judiciary is corrupt. There will be no justice for either the victims of sex crimes or the alleged perpetrators for as long as investigation into such crimes are outsourced to a for-profit organisation like APLE.
DeletePretty much any and everyone who does not have money (or does not have as much money as the person they are up against in court) can be a victim of a corrupt judiciary. This includes genuine victims of crime - such as rape, sexual assault, the theft of land and homes by government officials and other ways in which poor and powerless Cambodians are exploited by the rich and powerful. This category includes not just Cambodians but also NGOs who take advantage of the lack of rule of law in Cambodia to behave as they please. Mr Fletcher is a victim of the same judiciary as the victims of sexual abuse. This will not end until corruption is rooted out of the judiciary. And this will not occur until there is the will, on the part of the Cambodian government, to do so. There is no sign that a Hun Sen government has any desire to root out corruption within the judiciary, sadly.
DeleteAbsolute bullshit Ricketson. Another one of your made up stories.
DeleteGo too google and enter Judicial Corruption in Cambodia
DeleteAnon 6:27 "Absolute bullshit Ricketson. Another one of your made up stories."
DeleteIt's just bizarre that anyone would deny the corruption of the Cambodian court and police systems, regardless if what they think of the Fletcher case. It's clear that posters like this are not responding (or even thinking), but just reacting.
Very clear that Ricketson made the hotel story up. he considers himself an investigative journalist - then why hasn't he asked the hotel to show him the hotel video and get some pis of the so called 2 men. Todays story, stating that the men haven't reappeared and another letter from Fletcher (copied form previous letters) is another boring re-run of the same old story. This horse has bolted!
ReplyDeleteReL Licadho
ReplyDeleteLicadho Org. the Human Rights Hypocrit Organisation
quote khmertimeskh.com
Licadho director Naly Pilorge said in a press release accompanying the release of the report. “Sometimes it seems like the authorities don’t care about justice. Instead, rape cases are just a way for them to make money.
“Corruption is everywhere,” she said
unquote
The reaction (or rather the lack of) to the questions raised on this blog about David Fletchers case for a fair trial stands in stark contrast to the Press Releases like this one:
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18194/courts-still-failing-rape-victims--study-finds/
Naly why don't you help change things. You're complicit in the corrupt system and deny answers, evidence in "we have other findings" in David Fletchers case ? You are a solid part of the System WRONG !
Dear Naly Pilorge
DeleteYou are quoted in the Khmer Times as having made the following comment in a press release:
“Every time the victim comes into contact with a public official, it’s likely that they will have to make a corrupt payment and if the suspect has money he will probably be able to buy his freedom,” Licadho director Naly Pilorge said in a press release accompanying the release of the report.
“Sometimes it seems like the authorities don’t care about justice. Instead, rape cases are just a way for them to make money.
“Corruption is everywhere,” she said.
If you believe that "corruption is everywhere", why do you refuse to accept the possibility that Mr David Fletcher was framed for a crime he did not commit? Do you think it is possible that the $30,000 Yang Dany and her mother were told they were entitled to by way of compensation might have influenced Yang Dany to accuse Mr Fletcher of rape?
This is not a rhetorical question, Naly. You have claimed that you ave arrived at 'other findings' in relation to Mr Fletcher but refuse to provide any evidence (to the courts or the media) to support your 'findings'. You have decided to play judge and jury and find Mr Fletcher guilty in the court of your own imagination without, as you know, even the semblance of a fair trial.
Yes, Naly, corruption is everywhere and your attitude to Mr Fletcher's right to a fair trial (he has none, in your view) makes it quite apparent that corruption reaches into the hallowed halls of LICADHO as well.
As one of the founders of APLE, as a friend of Thierry Darnaudet, is it possible that you are totally compromised in the case of Mr Fletcher? Is it possible that to make any form of pubic acknowledgement of his right to a fair trial would be tacit acknowledgment that Thierry Darnaudet, back in 2010 and 2011, went out of his way to guarantee that Mr Flether did not receive a fair trial and that this would be awkward for you personally?
And today, in the final months of 2015, whilst APLE acknowledges that Mr Fletcher almost certainly did not rape Yang Dany, Samleang Seila believes that he should stay in jail for 10 years for the crime of not getting some paperwork to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in time. ANd you think this is OK? Or, OK enough not to say anything, not to advocate Mr Fletcher's right to a fair trial but to stick resolutely with your own 'findings' and not allow these to be tested in any court of law?
If all the women and children who are raped are entitled to their cases being heard in a court untainted by corruption (and of course they are), the same should apply to the alleged rapists. And you, as head of Cambodia's most prominent NGO should be advocating the right for all Cambodians and non-Cambodians to fair trial.
You do not.