Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Cambodian Supreme Court upholds life sentence of 3 convicted terrorists

PR-Inside.com
2008-03-12

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - One Cambodian and two Thai men lost their appeals against life prison sentences Wednesday after the Cambodia's Supreme Court upheld their terrorism convictions.The Supreme Court's ruling was the last legal resort for Sman Ismael, a Cambodian Muslim, and Thai citizens Abdul Azi Haji Chiming and Muhammad Yalaludin Mading.
All three were sentenced to life behind bars in December 2004.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court had convicted them of conspiring to commit terrorist acts by helping Hambali, one of Asia's top terrorist leaders, plan attacks on the U.S. and British embassies in Cambodia.

Announcing his ruling, Supreme Court Judge Khem Pon, who presided over a five-judge panel, said the three men «helped facilitate preparation for a terrorist attack» on the embassies.

He said the lower court had rightfully convicted them for «conspiring to commit attempted murder in a terrorist act.

Hambali, an Indonesian whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, reportedly spent several months in Cambodia in 2002.

He tried to use the country as a base from which to launch regional terror attacks, and is said to be a key leader of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terror network.Hambali was captured in Thailand in 2003 and later transferred to the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay.

Sman Ismael helped arrange a Cambodian visa for Hambali and organized his travels in the country, an Appeals Court judge said in 2006 in a ruling rejecting the trio's first appeal.

The two Thai nationals _ Abdul Azi Haji Chiming and Muhammad Yalaludin Mading _ bought telephones and made other arrangements for Hambali, according to the 2006 ruling.

Kao Soupha, the Cambodian lawyer representing the three men, on Wednesday called the final ruling «totally unjust,» saying the courts have shown «no evidence whatsoever» linking the men to the alleged terrorist plot.

He said he plans to seek clemency from Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni for his clients.

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