The event was an important milestone for IBJ Cambodia’s Program “Ensuring the Right to Legal Representation in Cambodia,” an undertaking sponsored by the United Nations Democracy Fund, which began in January 2019 and will continue through December 2020.

“Finding ways to provide access to justice to poor and vulnerable people”

During the one-day session led by CBJ’s Country Director Mr. Ouk Vandeth, the Municipal Court Prosecutor of Kandal Province, officials from the Ministry of Justice and local police officers discussed methods for providing poor and vulnerable people access to justice. The group discussed the importance of proper identification and treatment of minors, the need to improve lawyers’ access to defendants held in jails and prisons, and the requirement of obtaining sufficient evidence prior to arrest. Participants clarified how they can work together in relation to each topic.

The prosecutor spoke highly of the event, describing it as a “valuable opportunity for prosecutors, officers from the Ministry of Justice, and police officers to get together to discuss ways [to] prevent minors from [suffering] illegal treatment and [improper] identification, and allow lawyers to meet […] defendants in prison.”

Officers listen in as Mr. Ouk Vandeth introduces the discussion topics to the stakeholders.

The police officers agreed with the prosecutor’s request for lawyers to have access to clients in the prison (or police stations) beginning 24 hours after intake, so that accusations of illegal interrogation procedures will be known to the lawyer prior to the trial. Police officers also agreed to advise the accused of their rights while in custody (Article 43 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

Moreover, IBJ Cambodia’s Technology Manager Phou Pheakdey introduced the new iConnectJustice app and hotline to the prosecutor and police officers. The app and hotline will allow individuals accused of crimes as well as their families to contact available pro-bono lawyers including IBJ lawyers for representation. All parties commended the app and hotline, and gave suggestions on how to advertise and simplify the iConnectJustice program for use by people in provincial areas.

Mr. Phou Pheakdey introduces the iConnectJustice application and hotline to the justice stakeholders.

IBJ’s work in Cambodia

Cambodians continue to confront challenges as the country rebuilds its judicial system two decades following the end its internal conflict. Numerous obstacles to justice exist, and the accused are regularly deprived of due process rights. Bureaucratic challenges together with a shortage of lawyers — especially in the provinces — has constrained early access to a lawyer by the accused. IBJ aims to amplify people’s legal rights and prevent violations of due process through providing early access to lawyers in over ten provinces. As a part of this mission, IBJ trains defense lawyers via live and online training sessions. IBJ also promotes rights awareness by organizing street law campaigns, radio talk shows, and other public events. Finally, IBJ hosts roundtables such as this one to help create a collaborative platform among justice stakeholders to seek solutions to problems affecting effective and efficient access to justice to vulnerable populations.

IBJ’s newest initiative in Cambodia involves the development of accessibility tools such as the iConnectJustice app, a legal hotline, and an automated Facebook bot system. These tools will not only help individuals to have greater access to lawyers, but will also help lawyers to access legal information and manage their caseloads. Furthermore, IBJ will be able to track legal needs across Cambodia using data obtained through the tools.

Contact details and further information

If you have any questions about IBJ’s country program in Cambodia, please contact:

Sanjeewa Liyanage                                        or                     Ouk Vandeth

International Program Director, IBJ                                        Country Director, CBJ

Phone: +41(0) 22 731 24 41                                                  Phone: +855 70 857 529

Email: sliyanage@ibj.org                                                        Email: ibj_vandeth@online.com.kh

To follow IBJ’s project in Cambodia, connect with IBJ on Facebook.

Pich Sreymom* is an 18 year old girl who was accused of being accomplice to a motorbike theft. Without the means to pay for counsel, she was afraid that her past imprisonment and criminal record would be unfairly held against her. Through the intervention of the IBJ lawyer working in Ratanakiri, she obtained justice in her case.

Sreymom and Mao Sary, IBJ Lawyer in DRC, in front of IBJ office in Rattanakiri

Sreymom does not have a family and lives in a guesthouse that she shares with her friend. On August 28, 2014, at 3:00 am, her boyfriend Vichet came to her guesthouse, and told her that he would go to Oyadav district to give a motorbike to his uncle and would come back the following day. In the morning, the guesthouse owner came to her and asked her where the man who had come to her room went to. After she told him what her boyfriend said, he  then told her that Vichet had stolen the motorbike, and had fled. The next day, police came to the guest house and escorted her back to the police station for questioning. Sreymom repeatedly told the police that she did not steal the motorbike she was then released at the end of the interrogation.

On September 2, 2014, her boyfriend came back to see her at the guesthouse. Soon after, the police arrived and arrested them. Sreymom was sent to court and accused of being the accomplice to the motorbike theft. She was interrogated by the court and then sent to prison. She stayed there for 5 months until her trial could be scheduled.

During her pretrial detention, in a small  cell  she shared  with 23 other prisoners, Sreymom learned about IBJ.  When the IBJ lawyer working in Ratanakiri came to the prison to conduct one of his regular visits, she asked him to represent her case in court.

The trial was held on January 30, 2015. The IBJ lawyer presented a strong case for Sreymom’s release due to lack of evidence as well as the corroborative testimony of Vichet denying her involvment in the theft. The court acquitted her of the charges and she was released on February 4, 2015.

*Name changed to protect her identity.

Submitted by Yohosua Kim, Cambodia

17 September 2014

On September 17, 2014, we went to Prey Veng province to visit Theara, a former IBJ client recently released after being acquitted. Theara’s house is only 40 kilometers away from IBJ’s provincial Defender Resource Center, yet it took us nearly three hours to drive there  considering the rain and mud. IBJ Lawyer Mr. Prak Phin and his assistant Mr. Leang Sina drove us through many green paddy fields until we finally arrived in the early afternoon where we met Theara with his family to tell us his story.

On the road to the village

Back on December 17, 2013, Theara and his wife suddenly woke up at 8: 30pm after hearing a gunshot. His mother in law, living in the house next door, wanted to see what was happening and Theara’s wife asked him to go with her mother. When they arrived at the neighbor’s house where the noise had come from, a lot of villagers were already there. A group of four men had apparently gone into the house with guns to rob the owners. They kicked the husband, bound his hands and threatened his wife, asking for her jewelry and cash. According to the victims, they stole a total of 12 million riels (about 3,000 US$) and an additional 1,545 US$.

By the time the villagers and later the police officers arrived at the scene, the four men were already gone. Nevertheless, the victim’s wife said she recognized Theara as one of the men who had just robbed her. She said that she heard the perpetrators speaking in a particular dialect which was, according to her, only known by Theara in the village.

Theara and his two daughters in front of their house

With no further investigation, the police officers arrested Theara and took him to the police station for further interrogation. While in police custody, the officers told Theara to confess and demanded to know the names of the other perpetrators. When he denied being involved, they started to kick his left leg, which was already weak, again and again for several hours. No one informed him about his right to a lawyer and he had never heard of legal aid services. After two days in police custody, Theara was sent to Prey Veng prison where he endured an overcrowded cell and harsh conditions.

This story shows once again how proper investigation techniques in Cambodia are less often used. Due to a lack of means and will, arresting someone and making him/her confess is still the more convenient and cheapest way of solving a crime for the police.

After a few months in prison, a court clerk finally asked Theara if he had a lawyer. As he did not, the investigating judge appointed him IBJ Lawyer Mr. Prak Pin. The first time they met, Theara felt stressed, but was also relieved not to be alone anymore. From the moment he met Prak Pin, he trusted him and knew he had a chance to get out of prison.

IBJ lawyer Prak Phin & Theara

On August 28, 2014, after more than 8 months of detention, the trial finally took place. Theara was accused of theft with violence, punishable by imprisonment from three to ten years according to article 357 of the Cambodian Criminal Code. The IBJ defense lawyer brought exculpatory pieces of evidence before the court, including 8 eyewitnesses, one of which was the victim’s aunt, and 58 villagers’ testimonies (including the village and commune chiefs) attesting to Theara’s alibi and innocence.

On September 3, 2014, the judge issued his verdict: Theara was acquitted. He was released five days later. He immediately went to take care of his mother in Battambang province (450 km from Prey Veng) who had fallen ill while he was in prison. Theara is now taking care of his mother and working to cure his left leg before returning back to work as a fruit picker in a few months.

While Theara was detained, his 16 and 17 year old daughters had to work at a factory to support the rest of the family, including a three year old baby, while his wife was forced to take out a loan.

Though he is now back in his village, he has yet to see the neighbors who accused him of theft and is afraid of meeting them again.  “I have a family to feed and a loan to reimburse, so I need to work as soon as possible and avoid problems.” Unfortunately, this is also the reason why he will not be suing his neighbors for compensation or prosecute the police for ill-treatment.

Prak Phin, provincial lawyer (right) and Leang Sina, provincial investigator (left)

Theara is very thankful to IBJ and their defense lawyers. He concluded by saying “ {An} IBJ lawyer found justice for me. I {could} never thank you enough. Without a lawyer, I would probably still be in prison. IBJ offered me a rebirth!”

On December 9, 2014 Sophal and his wife Thea[1], parents of three children, have been released from prison. They are very happy about their discharge and being able to see their children again after such a long time. Even though they were both innocent of any crimes, Sophal and Thea were forced to spend three and a half years of their lives in prison.

From left to right: Mr. Ouk Vandeth (IBJ country director), Sophal and his wife Thea.

This nightmare began back in June 2011, when the police force discovered a body in Koh Kong province. From their investigation it appeared that the man was murdered three months earlier. Police officers started interrogating people and asked Sophal and Thea to visit the police post as well. The couple was uninformed regarding the contents of the interview and they were interrogated separately. Sophal and Thea had a solid and convincing alibi, as they were visiting family in Kandal province, located approximately 350 kilometers away from Koh Kong. Nevertheless, the police reported having eyewitnesses who claimed having seen the suspects at the crime scene on the day of the murder. Thea and Sophal denied this severe accusation and refused to sign the police record stating their confession of guilt. As a result, police officers started threatening with a prison sentence of eighteen years if they would not cooperate.

After three long days of threats and intimidation in police custody – which is in fact illegal as “the maximum duration of any police custody is 48 hours” according to the Cambodian Code of Criminal Procedure – Thea and Sophal finally signed the police record with their wrongful confession. Furthermore, police officers never informed them about their rights and did not even let Sophal make a phone call – claiming they had no battery on their phone.

The unjust police record was sent to the prosecutor who interrogated Thea and Sophal. During this questioning, the couple denied the police record but did no mention of the police threats out of fear for potential reprisals.

The trial hearings took place on February 6, 2012, which was also the day their court-appointed lawyer met Sophal and Thea for the first time. Two eyewitnesses testified seeing Thea and Sophal killing the man but changed their version of the story from the original statements to the police. The defense lawyer requested an acquittal explaining that Thea and Sophal were not in Koh Kong during the murder. Even the prosecutor raised the fact that the eyewitnesses had changed their testimony, but the trial judge nevertheless sentenced Sophal and Thea to seventeen years in prison.

The unfairly penalized couple appealed on March 9, 2012. There is only one Court of Appeal in Cambodia and appeal cases are often pending for a very long time before being heard. Meanwhile, the accused unnecessarily languish in jail. Unfortunately, IBJ does not have an office located in Koh Kong province and can therefore not provide legal aid on a fulltime basis. Nevertheless, Mr. Ouk Vandeth (IBJ Country Director and Fellow) regularly visits the province to take cases of people suffering from the unjust court system in prison. During one of his visits at Koh Kong prison to meet a client, Mr. Ouk Vandeth met Sophal, who had by that stage already spent two years imprisoned without any update regarding their appeal.

Mr. Ouk Vandeth referred the case to the IBJ lawyer located at the Court of Appeal, Mr. Kin Vibol, who then examined it and pushed the court to set a trial date. The hearings had still been postponed several times, but the case was finally heard on November 19, 2014. Mr. Kin Vibol explained that his clients were not in Koh Kong at the time of the crime, that there was no physical evidence proving their guilt, and questioned the reliability of the witnesses as they had changed their testimony.
This trial finally resulted in the release of Thea and Sophal on December 1, 2014. The General Prosecutor of the Appeal Court however, requested a cassation to the Supreme Court, meaning that Thea and Sophal are possibly not entirely done with the judicial system yet.

The couple remains puzzled concerning the false accusations, as they have never had any encounter with the police force or legal system, and had no relations to the murdered victim whatsoever. The acquittal verdict came to Sophal and his wife as a great relief and surprise at the same time. They had no trust left in the Cambodian justice system and their lengthy trial procedure led them to believe that they were facing life in prison. Sophal and Thea are deeply grateful to IBJ for the positive turn of events in their life. Hopefully this court decision is the end of their nightmare, allowing them to peacefully resume their fulfilled family life.

From left to right: Mr. Kin Vibol (IBJ lawyer) with his released clients Thea and Sophal, Mr. Ouk Vandeth (IBJ Country Director) and Mr. Sok Sopheak (IBJ lawyer assistant) in front of Phnom Penh IBJ office.

[1] Clients’ names changed for confidentiality.

IBJ has been providing early access to council in Cambodia since 2001 when Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC), invited IBJ to join their efforts to rebuild the Cambodian legal system. Since the establishment of the country program in 2006, IBJ has proved the efficiency of its model and managed to gather enough support to cover now 20 of the 25 Cambodian provinces conducting a range of activities to improve the quality of legal aid throughout the country and is currently the only organization providing free legal services to the indigent accused of Cambodia.

Quick Facts:

• 8 Defender Resource Centers providing legal protection across 20 provinces.
• Over 5,100 cases handled.
• Over 200 rights awareness campaign events directly reaching over 11,100 individuals.
• 38 roundtable discussions with over 940 participants.
• 32 radio rights awareness campaigns reaching out to millions of Cambodians.
• 22 defender/justice-sector decision-maker joint trainings, with over 900 participants.

IBJ is now working with national level officials to institutionalize its programming so that legal aid will be carried forward as a government operated service rather than an NGO-led effort. The period of 2014 to 2016 will be a time of critical design and transition, with pilot programs and joint implementation leading the way for a sustainable government-led effort in the long term.

IBJ hopes to open additional offices to provide due process rights protection in the five provinces that it currently does not serve – thus achieving universal access to legal aid throughout Cambodia.

Help make this a reality by joining the #SEChallenge and donate today!

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Learn more about IBJ Cambodia at http://www.ibj.org/where-we-work/cambodia/

Take a look at some examples of impact of the IBJ’s defense work here:

http://www.ibj.org/2014/10/03/ibj-informs-cambodian-prisoners-of-their-rights-in-preah-vihear/

http://www.ibj.org/2014/09/22/ibjs-radio-programs-help-lead-to-early-access-to-council-in-cambodia/

http://www.ibj.org/2014/09/19/ibj-offered-me-a-rebirth-defense-lawyers-help-free-tortured-man/

Campagne de sensibilisation aux droits légaux d‘IBJ

Les prisonniers étudient un manuel

Les avocats d’IBJ ont répondu aux questions et facilité la discussion

Les femmes et les hommes prisonniers de tous âges y ont participé

Les photos ont été généreusement fournies par Kan Seng Houth.

IBJ Legal Rights Awareness Campaign

Prisoners review information packets

IBJ Legal Fellows answered questions and facilitated discussion

Male and female prisoners of all ages participated

Photos generously provided by Kan Seng Houth.

le 17 septembre 2014

Le 17 septembre 2014, Theara, un ancien client d’IBJ récemment acquitté et libéré nous a reçu chez lui dans la province cambodgienne de Prey Veng. Maitre Prak Phin, l’avocat local d’IBJ et son assistant Leang Sina nous ont conduit jusqu’à la maison de Theara située à environ 40 kilomètres du bureau provincial d’IBJ. Le trajet au milieu des rizières verdoyantes s’est avéré beaucoup plus long que prévu puisqu’il nous a fallu presque trois heures sous la pluie et sur une route boueuse pour y arriver. Arrivés à destination, Theara a partagé son histoire avec nous.

Une nuit de décembre 2013, un coup de feu dans le voisinage réveilla Theara et sa femme. La belle-mère de Theara, vivant dans la maison voisine, voulue voir ce qui se passait et la femme de Theara lui a demandé de l’accompagner. Il y avait déjà beaucoup de villageois quand ils sont arrivés à la maison du voisin d’où le bruit venait. Apparemment, un groupe de quatre hommes armés était entré dans la maison pour la cambrioler. Après avoir frappé et ligoté le mari, ils auraient menacé sa femme réclament ses bijoux et l’argent. Selon les propriétaires, ils auraient volé au total 12 millions de riels (environ 3 000 dollars américains) et 1 545 dollars.

Quand les villageois et la police sont arrivés, les quatre hommes étaient déjà partis. Néanmoins, la femme victime du vol a déclaré qu’elle reconnaissait Theara comme l’un des voleurs, attestant qu’elle avait entendu les voleurs parler un dialecte particulier que seul Theara connaissait dans le village.

Theara avec ses deux filles

Les policiers ont alors arrêtés Theara et l’ont emmené au poste de police sans enquête complémentaire pour qu’il d’avoue son crime et révèle le nom des autres voleurs. Theara, a clamé son innocence et les policiers ont alors commencé à frapper sa jambe gauche, et ce pendant plusieurs heures. A aucun moment Theara n’a été informé de son droit à un avocat ou des services d’aide juridique. Après deux jours de garde à vue, Theara a été transféré à la prison de Prey Veng où il a enduré les conditions difficiles d’une cellule surpeuplée.

L’utilisation de la violence et de la torture en vue d’obtenir des aveux est encore une technique courante au Cambodge. En effet, la police manquant de moyens pour mener une réelle enquête judiciaire, il est toujours plus rapide et moins cher d’arrêter un suspect et de le faire avouer.

Après plusieurs mois de prison, un des greffiers du tribunal a finalement demandé à Theara s’il avait un avocat et le juge d’enquête lui a alors assigné Prak Pin, l’avocat d’IBJ basé à Prey Veng.

Quand il a rencontré Prak Pin pour la première fois, Theara était angoissé mais ses inquiétudes se sont rapidement dissipées quand il a compris que l’aide juridique de Prak Pin pourrait l’aider à sortir de prison, et qu’il pouvait avoir confiance en lui.

Avocat d’IBJ Prak Phin et Theara

Le 28 août 2014, le procès a finalement eu lieu après plus de 8 mois de détention. Theara a été accusé de vol avec violence, crime passible de un à trois ans d’emprisonnement conformément à l’article 357 du Code pénal cambodgien. Maitre Prak Pin a présenté au tribunal des éléments de preuve à décharge, notamment 8 témoins, dont la tante de la victime, et les témoignages de 58 villageois qu’ils ont tous attesté son innocence.

Le 3 septembre 2014, le juge a prononcé son verdict acquittant Theara qui fut libéré cinq jours plus tard. Il est immédiatement allé prendre soin de sa mère dans la province de Battambang (environ 450 km de Prey Veng) qui était tombé malade alors qu’il était en prison. Il va à présent essayer de soigner sa jambe gauche nécessaire à sa reprise du travail en tant qu’ouvrier du bâtiment et cueilleur de fruits.

Pendant sa détention, les filles de Theara, agées de 16 et 17 ans ont dû travailler dans une usine pour nourrir le reste de la famille, dont un bébé de trois ans. La femme de Theara a aussi dû contracter un emprunt à la banque.

Aujourd’hui Theara est de retour dans son village. Il n’a pas encore revu les voisins qui l’ont accusé de vol et il a peur de les rencontrer de nouveau. «J’ai une famille à nourrir et un emprunt à rembourser, j’ai besoin de travailler dès que possible et éviter les problèmes», explique-t-il. C’est la raison pour laquelle il ne veut pas poursuivre les voisins en justice ni la police pour les mauvais traitements subis.

Prak Phin, avocat provincial (droit) avec Leang Sina, l’enquêteur provincial (gauche)

Theara n’a cessé de remercier son avocat et IBJ. «Sans avocat d’IBJ je serais probablement encore en prison. Je ne pourrai jamais le remercier suffisamment de son aide et sa générosité. IBJ m’a offert une renaissance.», conclut-il.

September 2014

Mr. Kheng and Nou Chandeth, the IBJ lawyer in Kampong Thom office

In June 2013, while riding his moto home from his mother’s place, a man named Kheng[1] was arrested by the police in Kampong Thom province. He did not understand what was happening, and got into a fight with the police officers at the moment of the arrest. They brought him into police custody to interrogate him. In fact, Kheng had been arrested in suspicion of being the perpetrator of a violent theft which had occurred the previous day in Siem Reap province. Kheng himself wasn’t even aware of this incident as he was in no way involved. Alerted by their colleagues in Siem Reap, the police officers in Kampong Thom were looking for suspects and had decided to arrest Kheng as he drove by, possibly because he had been charged in the past with use of an illegal weapon.

While in police custody, the victim of the offense came from Siem Reap to identify the suspect. She firmly denied that it was Kheng, recognizing that his physical appearance was very different from that of the criminal. Nonetheless, the police decided to keep Kheng detained for further interrogation. Kheng told them upfront that he did not know anything about the offense and that he was just driving home from his mother’s place at the time of the arrest. However, the police officers wrote in the records that he had committed the offense and pleaded guilty. Unfortunately, when the police officers gave him the records to sign, he was not able to read through them correctly; the light was faint and his eyes were bruised due to the prior altercation with police officers. These circumstances resulted in Kheng being sent to prison in pretrial detention.

Luckily for Kheng, he had heard about IBJ through the organization’s radio broadcasts which explain what a legal aid lawyer is and how to contact the nearest provincial Defender Resource Center. After two months in pretrial detention, he was finally able to ask his family to contact the IBJ lawyer in Kampong Thom province, so there was an IBJ defense lawyer available to represent him at trial In February.

As the police records were wrong, Kheng delivered a different, but true, version of events at the trial. The lawyer raised the issue that inculpatory evidence was only coming from the police records. He called Kheng’s mother to testify before the court, providing an alibi for her son as they were together before the arrest. He also called the actual victim of the incident, who reiterated that Kheng was not the perpetrator. Finally, the IBJ lawyer stated that the Cambodian Constitution and Criminal Code maintain that the accused should always be given the benefit of the doubt. By May the judges issued their decision, resulting in an acquittal for Kheng.

In total, Kheng spent 9 months and 21 days in prison. He was detained in a 10 by 5 meter cell, over-crowded with more than 60 prisoners. He could only meet his family once or twice a month for 10 to 15 minutes each time. Though he strongly felt the injustice of his situation, he remained confident that he would see justice. He was worried about his wife as well, who was pregnant with their second child at the time. She was left alone to tend to their farm while he was detained.  Fortunately for Kheng, he had learned about his right to a lawyer from IBJ’s radio program. He is very thankful for IBJ and their work and will continue to spread the word about the existence of free legal aid services.

[1] Name changed.

IBJ a organisé une séance de sensibilisation juridique sur les droits de prisonniers pour les détenus et les fonctionnaires pénitentiaires dans la prison privinciale de Ratanakiri. Dans le cadre d’un effort visant à sensibiliser le public aux leurs droits fondamentaux, IBJ organise régulièrement les événements de sensibilisation juridique qui font partie de Programme de l’aide juridique d’IBJ.

កម្មវិធីផ្សព្វផ្សាយច្បាប់របស់អង្គការ
ស្ពានយុត្តិធម៌អន្តរជាតិIBJស្តីពីច្បាប់
និងសិទ្ឋិសម្រាប់អ្នកជាប់ពន្ឋនាគារ ដល់ជនជាប់ឃំុ និងមន្រ្តីពន្ឋនាគារ នៅពន្ឋនាគារខេត្តរតនគិរី ។

Photos generously provided by Sophoes Phon