A Kandal court acquitted nine airport protesters who were charged with multiple felonies for alleged violence during protests, more than a year after they were arrested and bailed.
Nine airport protesters living in Kandal Stung district were part of a group of 34 people arrested by police in September 2021 and accused of violence after protests against the $1.5-billion development project, which is set to serve Phnom Penh. Provincial officials accused the protesters of being in possession of sticks, stones and slingshots, and said they hurled gasoline and burned tires.
They were bailed a few days later, with one village resident saying they were forced to accept the meager compensation offered by the state for their land and were asked to stop their protests.
The nine defendants were found not guilty by the Kandal Provincial Court on Tuesday, after the court held a trial on November 15. The initial trial date in October was rescheduled after some of the defendants asked for a delay.
Court spokesperson So Sarin confirmed that judge Chuon Vannak acquitted the nine defendants. He said they were charged with intentional violence with aggravating circumstances, incitement to cause felony and obstruction of public officers under aggravating circumstances.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at Licadho, said the rights group represented five of the defendants. The prosecution had also asked the bench to drop the charges against the nine because their actions did not match the charges and they were not involved in the alleged crimes, Sam Ath said.
Additionally, the nine have accepted compensation offered by the government, which likely factored in the verdict, he added.
“On the issue of the protest and the demands that came from the land dispute, we have seen that the court’s verdict is kind of a good thing to be a model for other cases,” he said.
The nine defendants are Song Pechra, 19; Duk Sinat, 23; Chun Deab, 45; Soy Ra, 48; Khim Chetra, 44; Srun Nhak, 40; Nuon Sao, 59; Kem Roeun, 68; and Korn Sokhorn, 46.
Lonh Vannak, whose sister Duk Sinat was a defendant, said she was relieved the case had ended and that her sister could go to Korea to work. Her sister was leaving shortly after the verdict.
The family had 7,600 square meters of land, for which they have been given 7,300 square meters in Prek Sleng commune in Kandal Stung district and $8 per square meter for the difference of 300 square meters, or $2,400 total, she said. Another 1,500 square meters for which she did not have land titles was lost to the company.
The government has commissioned the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation, which is run by tycoon Pung Khiev Se, to build a new airport for Phnom Penh. The airport is located on the outskirts of the capital in Takhmao, Kandal, and is called the Techo Takhmao International Airport.
District residents have alleged that the company first took over their farmland before proceeding to use some land with homes. Protests between residents and police have been tense, often resulting in a violent standoff. Residents even camped out in a makeshift tent guarding a road leading from their homes to their farmland.
As the government was making the case of violence against the residents, Fresh News and other local media outlets published photos of alleged Molotov cocktails in plastic bottles, though little mention has been made of the improvised explosives since.
