Cambodian policemen walk past the Phnom Penh Capital Court of First Instance in Phnom Penh on September 23, 2010. Photo courtesy: AFP.
Cambodian military police stand guard in front of the Phnom Penh Capital Court of First Instance in Phnom Penh on September 23, 2010. Photo courtesy: AFP.PHNOM PENH, Thursday 23 September 2010 (AFP) - A Cambodian court on Thursday sentenced fugitive opposition leader Sam Rainsy to 10 years in jail for forging and publishing a false map of the border with Vietnam.
In January, Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile in Europe, was already sentenced in absentia to two years in prison over a related conviction for uprooting border posts and inciting racial discrimination.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen maintains close relations with the Vietnamese regime but Sam Rainsy, whose political party shares his name, has repeatedly accused the government of ceding land to Vietnam.
His new conviction for forging public documents and disseminating false information relates to claims that he posted a "fake map" of the border on his party's website to show Vietnam was encroaching on Cambodian territory.
The government says the map depicts incorrect border markings.
"The acts of the suspect harm the good relationship between Cambodia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," said Ke Sakhorn, president of the judges' panel.
He added that Sam Rainsy's map was "manipulating" and aimed at "discrediting the government".
Sam Rainsy was also fined five million riel (1,100 US dollars) and ordered to pay the government compensation of 60 million riel (14,000 US dollars), the court said.
In the January conviction, Sam Rainsy and two villagers were found guilty of intentionally damaging temporary border posts in October last year.
No formal map has yet been agreed between the two countries.
Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their 1,270-kilometre (790-mile) border in September 2006 after decades of territorial disputes stemming from French colonial times.
In January, Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile in Europe, was already sentenced in absentia to two years in prison over a related conviction for uprooting border posts and inciting racial discrimination.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen maintains close relations with the Vietnamese regime but Sam Rainsy, whose political party shares his name, has repeatedly accused the government of ceding land to Vietnam.
His new conviction for forging public documents and disseminating false information relates to claims that he posted a "fake map" of the border on his party's website to show Vietnam was encroaching on Cambodian territory.
The government says the map depicts incorrect border markings.
"The acts of the suspect harm the good relationship between Cambodia and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," said Ke Sakhorn, president of the judges' panel.
He added that Sam Rainsy's map was "manipulating" and aimed at "discrediting the government".
Sam Rainsy was also fined five million riel (1,100 US dollars) and ordered to pay the government compensation of 60 million riel (14,000 US dollars), the court said.
In the January conviction, Sam Rainsy and two villagers were found guilty of intentionally damaging temporary border posts in October last year.
No formal map has yet been agreed between the two countries.
Cambodia and Vietnam officially began demarcating their 1,270-kilometre (790-mile) border in September 2006 after decades of territorial disputes stemming from French colonial times.
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