Cambodian parliament refuses to remove immunity of 2 opposition lawmakers

The Cambodian National Assembly's standing committee on Wednesday rejected a request from the justice ministry to strip two opposition lawmakers of their immunity following a prostitution case.

"The standing committee had refused the request from the Justice Ministry to lift the parliamentary immunity of two lawmakers," said a National Assembly's statement released after a standing committee's closed meeting.

The refusal to the request was made after the standing committee saw that the case of two Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers Tok Vanchan and Pin Ratana was not an "in flagrante delicto" crime, the statement said.

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana proposed the National Assembly on June 30 to strip the two lawmakers of their immunity so that they could face charges in a prostitution case involving CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Sept. 9 sentenced, in absentia, Kem Sokha to five months in prison for "refusal to appear" in court over the prostitution case involving his alleged mistress.

He has been holed up at the CNRP's headquarters on the southern outskirts of Phnom Penh since May 26 in fear of arrest, as dozens of his loyalists have gathered at the party's ground-floor to protect him.

The accusation against Kem Sokha stems from leaked audio clips of telephone conversation between him and his alleged mistress in February. In the clips, they discussed sex, pregnancy and paying for an apartment.

Kem Sokha has not publicly commented on the veracity of the audio recordings, instead of advising his supporters not to respond to provocation. Endit