Cambodia frees Australian filmmaker convicted of spying

An Australian filmmaker whose imprisonment in Cambodia on espionage charges made him a symbol of the government’s crackdown on journalists and opposition figures was pardoned Friday, his lawyer said.

The filmmaker, James Ricketson, 69, had been jailed since June 2017, when he was arrested while filming a street rally held by the country’s most popular opposition party. After his arrest, Cambodian police searched his computer and found emails to members of the opposition, seeking information and discussing the possibility of collaborating on a documentary.

Ricketson defended his actions as normal journalistic conduct, and vigorously denied that he was a spy. He was convicted last month and sentenced to six years in the Prey Sar prison; his family said he had suffered health problems on account of the unsanitary conditions there.

His arrest presaged a large-scale crackdown on dissent ordered by the authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen. Beginning last summer, journalists were arrested and threatened, and a number of newspapers and radio stations were shut down. Ultimately, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved by court order and its senior officials were barred from politics, just in time for a major election in July.

Ricketson’s pardon comes two months after that vote, in which Hun Sen’s long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party won every parliamentary seat in the absence of serious challengers. Since his easy victory, a parade of other high-profile political prisoners have also been released on bail or pardoned.

A lawyer for Ricketson, Kong Sam Onn, said Friday that the filmmaker had already been released and was with his family, who had moved to Phnom Penh from Australia to support his defence.

Ricketson’s son, Jesse, said his father’s imprisonment had been a “nightmare” for the family.

“We are just so relieved and excited about this news,” he said.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the timing of the pardon underscored the political nature of Ricketson’s conviction.

“No one should overlook the bogus criminal charge and how the Cambodian government cruelly used him as a pawn to give substance to their fantasy political conspiracy,” he said.

A parade of defence witnesses at the trial, including former street children he had assisted and film director Peter Weir, said they could not imagine that Ricketson was a spy. Instead, they collectively painted a picture of a passionate but slightly bumbling do-gooder who had become deeply invested in Cambodia and its people. He even adopted a homeless girl two decades ago, and now supports the woman and her nine children.

Kong Sam Onn said his client would continue to spend time in Cambodia to be close to his adopted family, and had not been scared off by his time in prison.

“He said he loves Cambodia,” the lawyer said.

© 2018 New York Times News Service