CAMBODIA has pardoned Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, who was sentenced last month to six years in jail on an espionage charge in a trial that was widely criticised as unfair.
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| James Ricketson was sentenced to six years in jail for espionage |
The royal pardon was signed by Senate President Say Chhum, the acting head of state in the absence of King Norodom Sihamoni, who is reported to be visiting China.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne formally thanked the Cambodian government this morning.
“I thank my counterpart, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, for his government’s positive consideration of Mr Ricketson’s petition,” Ms Payne said in a statement.
Pardons are normally issued at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The court said it had ordered the filmmaker’s release after receiving the royal pardon, but it was unclear whether he had actually left jail, Reuters reported.
“We are just so relieved and excited about this news... It has been a really tough 16 months and I’m just kind of in shock right now,” his son Jesse told AAP. “We would like to offer our hugest gratitude to king Norodom Sihamoni for showing us compassion and bringing this nightmare to an end. We are eternally grateful.”
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| Australian director Peter Weir (right) poses for a photograph with Alex, the partner of Jesse Ricketson, the son of Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, after giving evidence at a court hearing in Phnom Penh |
In August, Jesse Ricketson told CNN that his father’s first trip to Cambodia was to film Sleeping with Cambodia, a 55-minute documentary described by Screen Australia as an “exploration of pedophilia and children at risk.”
He was released from prison at 5pm local time (8pm AEST) said Be Tea Leng, the deputy director of Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison where Mr Ricketson had been jailed.
His lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, said his client could be bound for Australia shortly.
Ricketson was arrested last year after flying a drone to photograph an opposition party rally.
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| Detained Australian filmmaker James Ricketson arriving in Phnom Penh court during his tria |
Mr Ricketson had visited Cambodia frequently over the last 20 years to make documentaries before he was charged with spying for an unknown country.
During trial, the prosecution argued that Mr Ricketson’s work had damaged Cambodia’s reputation on the world stage.
The prosecution’s main argument relied on several emails in which he expressed sympathy for opposition groups.
In one email, he urged Australia’s government to withdraw an invitation for Hun Sen in 2016.
Mr Ricketson’s health had deteriorated and he had lost weight, prompting a transfer to a prison hospital, according to the APP.
His arrest came as Hun Sen’s government was beginning a crackdown on critics and political rivals.
The ruling party won a landslide election victory in July.
There have been a series of releases of political prisoners since the polls.
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