Australian filmmaker James Ricketson found guilty of espionage in Cambodia
Australian filmmaker James Ricketson has been sentenced to six years in a Cambodian prison, after being found guilty of spying for an unnamed country. The 69-year-old filmmaker was arrested in Cambodia in June 2017 after flying a drone over a rally organized by the Cambodia National Rescue Party, an opposition group that was later dissolved by the government.
A statement released by Ricketson's family Friday said they were "absolutely devastated" by the verdict and sentence. "We are in utter shock at this outcome and that James, an innocent Australian, has been sentenced so harshly. Our family lives this tragedy daily," his family said.
Ricketson's lawyer Sam Onn Kong told CNN that Ricketson would seek a royal pardon, which could take up to a month to be decided. Meanwhile his family urged the Australian government to intervene, saying that Ricketson's health had suffered during the 15 months he's spent in Prey Sar prison, in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 31 2018, @09:08PM (2 children)
I visited Cambodia a few years back and they are really pushy and extort the crap out of tourists while having a pretty restrictive culture. I can totally believe that some government officials were blinded by "zomg drone recording a political opposition rally!" as some sort of spying. Repressive regimes are paranoid, as the US is finding out with the little trump tyrant.
Do not go to Cambodia, go to Thailand or Vietnam instead. Not without their own issues, but Cambodia needs to progress a little more before I'd recommend it to anyone.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @05:03PM
no. don't go to vietnam either. thailand is iffy enough, i gather from the scare-o-sphere.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 02 2018, @07:35PM
Angkor Wat is one the the greatest places in the world. Also the food is amazing and cheap (Indian/Asian).
Go to Cambodia.