September 23, 2020
Gov’t saving Cambodian on death row

The Kingdom will apply all legal means to defend a Cambodian drug trafficker being sentenced to death in Vietnam and she could be swapped in a newly ratified convict transfer treaty.

Miech Srey Neang, 27, from Phnom Penh was convicted and sentenced to death in July by Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Provincial People’s Court after being found guilty of trafficking drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam.

With legal assistance from the Cambodian government, Srey Neang in August had appealed against the Vietnamese lower court decision within the appeal period.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that case is still processing with legal assistance from the Cambodian government.

“So far, the Cambodian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has provided suitable lawyers for her,” he said. “This means that our lawyers will help with the case and other matters for Srey Neang.”

“The lawyers will defend her at all stages, from the Appeal to the Supreme Court,” he added.

However, Kuong said both Srey Neang and the Cambodian Consulate General did not receive information from the Vietnamese side when her trial will begin at the Vietnamese higher court.

Contacted yesterday, a Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin said the ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working closely with Vietnam on the case.

He said implementation of the newly ratified Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the Kingdom and Vietnam is among one of their choices.

The Ministry of Justice announced recently that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed it that the treaty would come into effect on October 1.

The National Assembly in March last year adopted a draft law on Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between Cambodia and Vietnam, which is four years after Prime Minister HE and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc witnessed the signing of the treaty.

“[The Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons] is the basis for consideration. This means that we will use all means, including the provision of legal aid, defending her in the Vietnamese court and the implementation of the agreements that we have with the Vietnamese side,” Malin said.

Malin explained that the treaty can be implemented after a final verdict, along with bilateral negotiation.

“In principle, the treaty means that there is a final verdict and that the convict must serve her sentence in another country,” he said. “In accordance with the agreement, the transfer is based on negotiations after it enters into force.”

According to a report by Vietnamese state-run media, VNA, Vietnamese police arrested Srey Neang “red-handed” carrying the drugs at the Moc Bai International Border gate in southern Tay Ninh province on December 2 last year.

She was accused of smuggling methamphetamine weighing over 4,943 grammes, which were found when her luggage was scanned upon her entry.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50765570/g ... death-row/

IMO no one should ever be sentenced to death for drug offenses

It seems she was paid $100.

Ho Chi Minh City-based newspaper Thanh Niên, recently reported that during the investigation, Srey Neang admitted in October last year, via Facebook, that she had known another Cambodian woman named “Ly Na”.

It said that on November 30, 2019, Ly Na went to Srey Neang’s house and hired her to carry a suitcase from Cambodia to Vietnam in exchange for $100.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50753551/s ... onviction/

xX.TROPA.Xx wrote: ↑Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:39 am IMO no one should ever be sentenced to death for drug offenses

True, well apart from the users of course.

February 3, 2021
VN High People’s Court to hear Cambodian’s death sentence appeal after Lunar New Year

The fate of a Cambodian drug trafficker being sentenced to death in Vietnam could be known after Vietnamese Lunar New Year when the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City resumes her trial after it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miech Srey Neang, 27, from Phnom Penh, was convicted and sentenced to death in July last year by Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Provincial People’s Court after being found guilty of trafficking drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam.

With legal assistance from the Cambodian government, Srey Neang in August had appealed the Vietnamese lower court decision within the appeal period.

The Cambodian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, which is providing legal assistance for Srey Neang, told Khmer Times that the Vietnamese higher court had postponed the appeal case amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the Vietnamese court may resume the case after Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which is on February 12.

“The Ministry of Justice of Cambodia has sent many documents and videos regarding the case. So until now, we have not yet received any update,” it said. “We are waiting for information from the Vietnamese court.”

Minister of Justice Keut Rith said the ministry is considering requesting the Vietnamese government to implement the treaty on the transfer of convicted inmates after a final verdict in Srey Neang’s case.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50809943/v ... -new-year/

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:28 am February 3, 2021
VN High People’s Court to hear Cambodian’s death sentence appeal after Lunar New Year

The fate of a Cambodian drug trafficker being sentenced to death in Vietnam could be known after Vietnamese Lunar New Year when the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City resumes her trial after it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Miech Srey Neang, 27, from Phnom Penh, was convicted and sentenced to death in July last year by Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Provincial People’s Court after being found guilty of trafficking drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam.

With legal assistance from the Cambodian government, Srey Neang in August had appealed the Vietnamese lower court decision within the appeal period.

The Cambodian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, which is providing legal assistance for Srey Neang, told Khmer Times that the Vietnamese higher court had postponed the appeal case amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the Vietnamese court may resume the case after Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which is on February 12.

“The Ministry of Justice of Cambodia has sent many documents and videos regarding the case. So until now, we have not yet received any update,” it said. “We are waiting for information from the Vietnamese court.”

Minister of Justice Keut Rith said the ministry is considering requesting the Vietnamese government to implement the treaty on the transfer of convicted inmates after a final verdict in Srey Neang’s case.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50809943/v ... -new-year/

Does the treaty even cover those convicted and sentenced to death? The sentence would need to be commuted to a term of imprisonment before being capable of being carried out by Cambodia in any prisoner transfer scheme, and that means her winning her appeal; due process first, prisoner transfer second.

Another issue is Cambodia's reputation of being a state where money can buy you out of trouble, including prison. Would Vietnam even consider commuting a death sentence to a life sentence and transfer the prisoner back to Cambodia, only to discover she was released after a couple of years because someone greased the right palms.