Kem Ley’s Wife Called to Court

October 5, 2016

Kem Ley’s Wife Called to Court

Wednesday, 05 October 2016

An investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued a second summons yesterday to Bou Rachana, the wife of assassinated political commentator Kem Ley, who gave birth to a son in Thailand on Sunday.

The summons demands Ms. Rachana appear for questioning in court on October 17 in relation to the case surrounding the murder of her husband.

Eurth Ang, the man police believe shot Mr. Ley twice at a gas station coffee shop in Phnom Penh on July 10, is now facing charges of premeditated murder and illegal weapons possession.

Ms. Rachana fled the country on August 28, after Mr. Ley’s death and funeral procession, out of fear for her family’s safety, and has been living in Thailand with her four sons – now five after the birth of Kem Leyvireak – awaiting asylum in a third country.

But yesterday Ly Sophanna, a spokesman for the court’s prosecutors, said investigating judge Seng Leang summonsed Ms. Rachana “on behalf of the civil plaintiff.”

“The investigating judge will review it and decide on the statements of the plaintiff on the date in accordance with applicable procedures,” he said.

The summons said Ms. Rachana needed to speak to authorities about the charges filed against Mr. Eurth, and added: “The individual has to come to follow up the summons on time and bring letters related to the above case if they have it.”

Ms. Rachana could not be reached for comment yesterday. But her brother, Bou Channy, said he was surprised to hear that the court issued a second summons for her to appear and answer questions about the murder, as his family had not filed a complaint and had not actually received the summons other than seeing it posted on Facebook.

“We do not understand the summons because our family has not yet filed a complaint because we are discussing it with our lawyers to find more evidence,” he said. “Moreover, we are busy with Ms. Rachana, who has just given birth.

“She has just given birth and then the summons came. This is just a formality. We know she can’t appear at the court because she has just given birth.”

He said the family would not attend the court date on October 17 because they never received the first summons, much less the second one.

“I think this is just to make the situation bad,” Mr. Channy said. “Who would dare to file a complaint besides the wife?”

Kem Rithysith, Mr. Ley’s brother, said his family had not received any information related to the summons other than what they saw posted on Facebook.

“I’m afraid if Ms. Rachana’s family received it. For us, we have not received it yet,” he said.

Many questioned how Ms. Rachana could be summonsed as a plaintiff despite never filing a formal complaint, but Moeurn Tola, the executive director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (Central), said it was common for courts to determine that someone is a civil plaintiff even if they have not filed a complaint themselves.

What was strange, he said, was the fact that no one knew anything about the first summons and a second summons was issued to a woman who had just given birth.

“In fact, Mr. Ley’s wife has yet to ask for help from a lawyer or file an official complaint,” he told Khmer Times.

Mr. Ley’s alleged killer was caught minutes after fleeing the scene, yet after nearly three months, police have yet to release security camera footage from the Caltex gas station or any more information on Mr. Ang’s motives.

He initially said he killed Mr. Ley due to a dispute over $3,000 that he was owed, but multiple sources refuted that statement days after the shooting. Mr. Ang’s wife told Khmer Times he would have had no way to loan someone that amount of money because the family was very poor.

Multiple opposition activists and politicians as well as international groups have called on the government to give up the case and allow an “independent” investigation into the murder, a request the government has repeatedly denied.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and many others have said they believe the government was involved in Mr. Ley’s murder, as he had participated in a roundtable discussion about a recent Global Witness report tying Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family to some of the country’s largest corporations only days before his assassination.