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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – An Australian filmmaker whose imprisonment in Cambodia has been accused of espionage has made him a symbol of the government crackdown on journalists and opposition figures, pardoned his lawyer Friday.
The filmmaker James Ricketson, 69, was jailed since June 2017 when he was arrested while filming a street rally organized by the country's most popular opposition party. After his arrest, the Cambodian police searched his computer and found emails from opposition members, seeking information and discussing the possibility of collaborating on a documentary.
Mr. Ricketson defended his actions as normal journalistic behavior and vigorously denied that he was a spy. He was sentenced last month and sentenced to six years in Prey Sar prison; his family reported having suffered health problems because of unsanitary conditions.
His arrest announced a large-scale crackdown on dissent ordered by authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Starting last summer, journalists were arrested and threatened, and several newspapers and radio stations were closed. In the end, the Cambodian National Rescue Party, an opposition party, was dissolved by court order and its top officials were expelled from politics just in time for a major election in July.
Mr. Ricketson's Grace comes two months after the vote, in which the long-standing Cambodian People's Party of Mr. Hun Sen won all parliamentary seats in the absence of serious challengers. Since his easy victory, a parade of other prominent political prisoners has also been released on bail or pardoned.
A Ricketson attorney, Kong Sam Onn, said Friday that the filmmaker had already been released and was with his family, who had moved from Australia to Phnom Penh to support his defense.
Ricketson's son, Jesse, said his father's imprisonment was a "nightmare" for the family.
"We are so relieved and excited by this news," he said.
Phil Robertson, Asia's deputy director for Human Rights Watch, said the timing of the pardon underscored the political nature of Mr. Ricketson's conviction.
"No one should ignore the bogus criminal charge and how the Cambodian government has cruelly used it as a pawn to give substance to their fantasy political plot," he said.
A parade of defense witnesses, including former street children he helped and director Peter Weir, said they could not imagine Mr. Ricketson was a spy. Instead, they collectively painted a picture of a passionate, but slightly awkward, one who had invested heavily in Cambodia and in his people. He even adopted a homeless girl two decades ago and is now supporting the woman and her nine children.
Mr. Kong Sam Onn said that his client would continue to spend time in Cambodia to get closer to his adoptive family and that he had not been scared by his stay in prison.
"He said he loves Cambodia," said the lawyer.
