PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Supreme Court was expected to decide Thursday on the appeal of two journalists convicted of treason for posting photographs related to border clashes with Thailand last year.The ruling will come amid growing questions over the high court’s independence.Phorn Sopheap of Battambang Post TV Online and Pheap Pheara of TSP 68 TV Online were arrested last July while returning from reporting trips to the border on allegations they posted photographs they took in a restricted military zone on Facebook.The men deny the charges, saying they had permission to be in the area where they shot photos. They are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the verdict and their 14-year prison sentences.One image showing land mines was widely republished by Thai media outlets and bolstered Thailand’s claims that Cambodia had laid new mines along the border that wounded patrolling Thai soldiers.
Cambodia had officially denied using land mines in the conflict, saying it adhered to international agreements banning their use. Cambodian authorities said the mines might have been left over from decades of conflict that ended in the late 1990s.
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The border fighting in July and December displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Thailand and Cambodia and killed about 100 soldiers and civilians. There has been no new fighting since a December ceasefire, though tensions remain high.
