By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH
Cambodia’s best known activist monk has said he plans to expose Cambodia’s corrupt legal system when he is put on trial later this month on a charge of incitement.
Luon Sovath, dubbed the ‘multimedia monk’ for his championing of land and human rights, told The Anadolu Agency Friday: "I want to go there to put the court on trial, to educate the court on independence, neutrality and truth. I go there to correct the court."
The monk, a leading proponent of non-violent activism in Cambodia, and Sourn Serey Ratha, the founder of the Khmer People Power Movement, have been charged with incitement to commit a crime, plotting to commit an attack and disrupting last year’s general election, the Cambodia Daily reported. They will appear in court on Nov. 25.
The charges relate to the distribution of T-shirts urging people not to vote and handing out flowers to soldiers in Phnom Penh accompanied by stickers calling for them to "turn your guns against the despot" -- a reference to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
In a telephone interview, Luon Sovath said: "The court charging me like this is not correct [according] to Buddhism rule, but may be involved with politics because the courts in Cambodia use the law of the court to threaten the activities of human rights defenders, land rights defenders and natural rights defenders."
The monk added: "I use my activities to save Cambodia and [the] Khmer people or to save human rights, land rights and natural rights. This is my compassion from my heart and from the Buddhism rule."
Serey Ratha admits organizing the call for a boycott of the election and handing out flowers but denies either is a criminal act, the Daily said.
He has also denied that Luon Sovath was involved in either act. Serey Ratha, who has been granted asylum in the U.S., does not intend to attend the trial in Phnom Penh.
His lawyer, Sok Sam Oeun, said he was doubtful that Serey Ratha would receive a fair trial. "I don't think the judge can acquit them," he told the Daily. "I do not trust [that] the judge can make the decision freely."
The Khmer People Power Movement, founded in 2010, is opposed to Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party and calls for ‘occupied’ Cambodian land to be returned from Vietnam.
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