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| Former RFA reporter Yeang Sothearin leaves the Phnom Penh Municipal Court earlier this month after being questioned about the pornography charges. Pha Lina |
Mech Dara | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 29 March 2018 | 09:48 ICT
Two former RFA journalists charged with espionage have additionally been charged with production of pornography, their lawyer said Thursday morning, apparently in relation to leaked photos that purportedly showed one of them in compromising positions.
Keo Vanny, who represents former Radio Free Asia reporters Oun Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, said they were charged two weeks ago with producing pornography, in relation to photos that were published by pro-government media outlets in November.
In the photos, which reportedly were pulled from Chhin's laptop, Chhin cannot be conclusively identified, while Sothearin does not appear at all. The two, who have denied the accusations, were questioned earlier this month in relation to the photos.
“I received the information about the charge from the court Wednesday,” Vanny said. “Through my discussions with them, they said they had not done it.”
Vanny said he was not sure about the exact charge, but that it could be filed under Article 39 of the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Law, which carries a prison sentence of up to one year for production of pornography.
Court spokesmen Y Rin and Ly Sophanna could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.
Sothearin, 35, and Chhin, 49, were charged with “espionage” in November after being accused of attempting to continue reporting for the US-based RFA after it shuttered its operations in Cambodia in September during a media crackdown by the government. They have also denied these charges.
From KI Media - Khmer Intelligence
via_IFTTT
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