(New York, December 10, 1999) -- Human Rights Watch today condemned the widespread rearrests of people previously released from prison by the courts in Cambodia. The rearrests were ordered by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 3, 1999.
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"Justice cannot be carried out through executive order. This crackdown is undermining the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, both of which are still quite fragile in Cambodia."
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Mike Jendrzejczyk,
Washington Director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch
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The organization also expressed strong concern about the safety and whereabouts of some of the fifty-four people arrested. Some of the court officials, who approved the prison releases, have received threats since the rearrests began.
"Justice cannot be carried out through executive order," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington Director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. "This crackdown is undermining the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, both of which are still quite fragile in Cambodia."
The arrests were ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a letter dated December 3, ostensibly in an effort to curb rampant corruption by court officials, who have allegedly taken bribes and improperly released suspected criminals. Hun Sen's letter orders the rearrest throughout Cambodia of all suspected armed robbers, kidnappers, and drug traffickers who have been released by the courts because charges were dropped, on bail, or on parole. Some of those arrested had been found not guilty at trial.
As of December 10, at least fifty-four people reportedly had been rearrested in Phnom Penh. The whereabouts of sixteen of them are unknown, while others have been transferred to Phnom Penh prisons. Prison officials throughout the country have been ordered to compile lists of released prisoners, although as of Friday, no rearrests had been made in the provinces.
The rearrests were not based on any new evidence nor were warrants issued at the time of the arrests, in violation of Cambodian law. To try people twice for the same crime also constitutes a violation of article 14(7) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Cambodia is a party. Detention orders for those sent to prison as of Thursday do not list any formal charges for rearrest and detention but state only that the detentions have been carried out under Order of the Royal Government No. 167, a reference to Hun Sen's December 3 letter.
The international organization also protested the December 7 suspension of the president and chief prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court by the Minister of Justice, because of allegations of corruption. The suspensions are in violation of Cambodian law, which states that the Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) is the sole body with the right to suspend or take disciplinary action against judges and prosecutors.
"Clearly there is a need for judicial reform in Cambodia," said Jendrzejczyk. "These arrests do nothing to address corruption in the courts or strengthen the independence of the judiciary. Instead, the crackdown only demonstrates how vulnerable Cambodia's judiciary is to political pressure and executive fiat."
Judicial reform should be carried out through established legal mechanisms such as the Supreme Council of Magistracy, which is mandated to discipline judges but has not been functioning effectively.
Human Rights Watch urged that reform of the criminal justice system involve not only the courts, but the police as well, who are also believed to take bribes. "The crackdown weakens the role of the judiciary while strengthening the police," said Jendrzejczyk. "Hun Sen is making them the ones to decide guilt or innocence."
In order to promote a genuinely independent judiciary, Human Rights Watch has advocated that the Royal Cambodian Government launch a program of judicial reforms that includes empowering and activating the Supreme Council of Magistracy to address issues of corruption and political pressure on the judiciary; providing guarantees and practical measures to ensure the safety of judges; passing the overdue Law on the Statute of Magistrates to address issues such as conflict of interest; and enforcing legal prohibitions against out-of-court financial compensation for felonies and major criminal offenses.
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