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Cambodian lawmakers unanimously passed a revised law on Tuesday that toughens penalties for anyone who denies atrocities, including genocide, by the former Khmer Rouge regime. According to the government, the legislation aims to prevent history from repeating itself, promote remembrance of Cambodia’s past, and provide justice to victims. The draft legislation, first approved by the government in January, still needs confirmation from the Senate and has to be signed by the country’s King Norodom Sihamoni, however, both steps are considered formalities.
Under the law, which contains seven provisions, the penalty for genocide denial has been increased to one to five years imprisonment and 10 million to 50 million riels ($2480 to $12,400). Similar laws exist in European countries such as Germany, Austria, and France, where it is illegal to deny the Holocaust and other atrocities committed by Adolf Hitler’s regime.
The legislation further strengthens penalties imposed by a 2013 law introduced by then-Prime Minister Hun Sen. Before the law’s initial proposal, Hun Sen alleged that a leading opposition figure had suggested some evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities had been fabricated by Vietnam. Human rights groups have criticized both the 2013 law and its successor, arguing that they serve political purposes rather than justice, and are intended to discredit the opposition. Critics contend that the new law could be used to further suppress political dissent.
Hun Sen, who served as Cambodia’s prime minister for 38 years, was succeeded by his son, Hun Manet. Their party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), has faced repeated accusations of using the judicial system to silence opponents.
The passage of this revised law comes just two months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s rise to power on April 15, 1975. The Khmer Rouge, the communist regime that ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, was responsible for widespread crimes later condemned by the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as grave breaches of both international and national law. The regime’s policies led to the deaths of approximately 1.7 million people through systematic enslavement, forced population transfers, mass extermination, and other crimes against humanity. These atrocities were committed against civilians on political, national, ethnic, racial, and religious grounds.
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Under the law, which contains seven provisions, the penalty for genocide denial has been increased to one to five years imprisonment and 10 million to 50 million riels ($2480 to $12,400). Similar laws exist in European countries such as Germany, Austria, and France, where it is illegal to deny the Holocaust and other atrocities committed by Adolf Hitler’s regime.
The legislation further strengthens penalties imposed by a 2013 law introduced by then-Prime Minister Hun Sen. Before the law’s initial proposal, Hun Sen alleged that a leading opposition figure had suggested some evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities had been fabricated by Vietnam. Human rights groups have criticized both the 2013 law and its successor, arguing that they serve political purposes rather than justice, and are intended to discredit the opposition. Critics contend that the new law could be used to further suppress political dissent.
Hun Sen, who served as Cambodia’s prime minister for 38 years, was succeeded by his son, Hun Manet. Their party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), has faced repeated accusations of using the judicial system to silence opponents.
The passage of this revised law comes just two months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s rise to power on April 15, 1975. The Khmer Rouge, the communist regime that ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, was responsible for widespread crimes later condemned by the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as grave breaches of both international and national law. The regime’s policies led to the deaths of approximately 1.7 million people through systematic enslavement, forced population transfers, mass extermination, and other crimes against humanity. These atrocities were committed against civilians on political, national, ethnic, racial, and religious grounds.
The post Cambodia parliament passes law imposing harsher penalties for genocide denial appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.