New penal code was adopted

13 Octobre 2009

Écrit par P.B. Mardi,

Translated from French by Monikhemra

Amendments offered by SRP were rejected. HRP and a party of the society fear that it opens the way to infringements of civil liberties of expression.

On Monday, October 12th, the parliamentarians adopted, with an enormous majority, 99 polls for, on 102 voters the new text. Alone three elected representatives of the Party of human rights (HRP) did not raise the hand. Concerning debates the 672 articles of new penal code had started on the October 1st.

The deputies of the SRP finally voted for the text, while quarantine amendments that they had given evidence all was refused by their colleagues of the majority. " We voted for penal code, because it is about an important law which will give birth to law anti-corruption ", explained Mu Sochua, at his exit of the National Assembly. Kem Sokha, president of the HRP, does not hear it of this ear. " We do not vote for a law putting in danger the freedom of expression ", he asserted.

In new penal code being discussed, defamation and affront are exempted from trouble of prison. However the political opponents and certain organisms of the society get worried about the fuzziness encircling the definition of these two terms in new code.

Without a definite definition, defamation and affront could be, according to them, used by the party in power as instruments intended to make hush up about criticisms contrary to the policy led by the government.

On the side of CPP, the representatives think that it is about a very good law, clean to guarantee the good functioning of democracy in the country.