Cambodia pardons Aussie filmmaker

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson gestures as he leaves the Municipal Court in Phnom Penh on Aug 16. (Reuters Photo)

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has granted a royal pardon to Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, jailed in August for six years after being found guilty of espionage for flying a drone over an opposition party rally, a court in Phnom Penh said on Friday.

The royal pardon issued on Friday was signed by Senate President Say Chhum, the acting head of state in the absence of King Norodom Sihamoni, who is reported to be visiting China. Pardons are normally issued at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“Having fully understood the royal decree, James Ricketson … should be freed,” the municipal court stated.

Ricketson, 69, was arrested in June 2017 after he was photographed flying a drone above a rally organised by the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) before communal elections.

The filmmaker, who has been visiting Cambodia for more than 20 years, producing documentaries about the country and its people, was charged with espionage but it remains unclear for whom he was spying.

It was not immediately clear whether Ricketson had been released from prison on Friday. Reuters was not able to immediately reach his family in Australia to seek comment.

The filmmaker’s arrest was part of a sweeping crackdown on critics and political rivals of Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party in the run-up to the general election this year. The CPP won all 125 seats in the rigged poll held in July.

With another five-year term safely under his belt and no challengers in sight, Hun Sen has arranged for the releases of numerous political prisoners and activists in the last month.

Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years, has a record of cracking down on his opponents when he feels threatened, then easing up when he has secured his political goals and seeks to tone down international criticism of his actions.

The recent releases come as he prepares to attend this month’s UN General Assembly session in New York, where he intends to defend his mandate as legitimate.

Ricketson’s trial was described as farcical by his sympathisers, largely because prosecutors never specified whom he was allegedly spying for and failed to present any evidence that he possessed or transmitted any secrets. He had been detained without bail since June last year in harsh conditions.

It appeared that Ricketson was targeted by the government for perceived sympathy for the CNRP. Ricketson repeatedly insisted he had no political agenda and his work making documentary films was journalistic in nature.

His Aug 31 conviction was met with only lukewarm public concern from Australia’s prime minister and foreign minister. Their public stance was criticised, but also led to speculation that an understanding might have been reached with Cambodian authorities for Ricketson’s early release.

Ricketson’s lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, said his client would go first to Phnom Penh and then travel to Australia.

“James will go back to his home country after he is released, but later he will be back to Cambodia because the pardon letter doesn’t bar him from re-entering Cambodia,” Kong Sam Onn said. However, there is no official statement guaranteeing he will be readmitted.

Ricketson had said during his trial that he wished to re-establish a project that he had launched before his arrest to buy some land to resettle several poor Cambodian families who have been living at a garbage dump. He and several character witnesses had testified that he provided financial assistance to several poverty-stricken Cambodians.