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Killed
May 18
Thun Bun Ly, Odom K'tek Khmer, KILLED
Thun Bun Ly, a contributor to and former editor of the opposition newspaper Odom K'tek Khmer (Khmer Ideal), was fatally shot by two unidentified gunmen while riding a motorcycle near a major commercial thoroughfare in central Phnom Penh. He was hit three times: once in the arm, and twice on his upper body. The assailants, who were also riding a motorcycle, fled immediately after the shooting. The attack came the same day that the Khmer Nation Party, of which Thun Bun Ly was a leading member, was to open its first branch office outside Phnom Penh. Cambodian courts convicted Thun Bun Ly twice last year on charges of defamation and disinformation for printing articles, letters to the editor and political cartoons that criticized the government. As a result, Odom K'tek Khmer was ordered permanently closed, and Thun Bun Ly was fined a total of 15 million riels (US$6,174). If he did not pay the sum, he risked up to three years' imprisonment. Both the fine and the closure order were stayed pending appeals to the Supreme Court, and Thun Bun Ly's requests for amnesty from King Norodom Sihanouk, and Hun Sen. In a letter to Cambodia's co-prime ministers, Prince Norodom Ranriddh and Hun Sen, CPJ expressed its alarm over the killing of Thun Bun Ly and called for a prompt and thorough investigation.
For more information contact asiaweb@cpj.org