Cambodian spy trial of Australian filmmaker postponed again
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The trial of an Australian filmmaker who could get five to 10 years in prison for flying a drone over a campaign rally last year was postponed Monday for a second straight month to allow his new lawyer to get acquainted with the case.
James Ricketson arrived at a Phnom Penh court in his orange prison uniform for a hearing on the charge of endangering national security, which in legal terms is tantamount to espionage.
He insisted to reporters outside the courtroom in June at was supposed to be the trial’s opening that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. But in a letter to long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month published in the pro-government Khmer Times newspaper, he apologized for his “mistake” in his statements about his situation.
The court rescheduled the trial’s opening to Aug. 16. Cambodia holds a general election on July 29, which is certain to return Hun Sen to office. Ricketson had been seen as sympathetic to his opposition, and it is not clear how the election results may affect his fate. The country’s courts are considered to be very much under government influence.
