On Wednesday, former university lecturer, Tieng Narith, aged 31, was sentenced in imprisonment to two and a half years by Phnom Penh Municipal court for teaching student from self-published textbook containing anti-government. Meanwhile, the court ordered him to pay a fine of $1,200. If he does not, he will have to spend an additional two year behind bars.
Tieng Narith was a former politic science teacher at Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, fired in August 2006 and arrested September 2006 for allegedly spreading misinformation about the government.
During his 90-minut hearing in court, he shouted for allegedly spreading misinformation about the government and he wanted an international trial to ensure that he received justice. He also said the proceedings were a show trial and accused court staff of being “puppet†of the Cambodian government. The Cambodia Daily’s report.
Country representative Margo Picken was quoted by the Daily as saying in her e-mail that “No one should be imprisoned for the peaceful expression of his or her views.â€
This saddens me
The justice system in Cambodia is “tinh mong” and puppet.
I too am saddened to hear this troubling news. In a democracy, teachers and professors should be able to express historical oppinions base on his/her observations and educational experience. Any limitation on teaching is unproductive. Students should be given data to process and DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES whether the given information is legitamate or not.
There should be a law to protect higher education in Cambodia from such prosecution.