Cambodia to try JI suspects

Cambodia to try JI suspects

CAMBODIA: Five foreign and Cambodian men accused of belonging to the regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and having links to al-Qaeda will go on trial in Phnom Penh on Friday, lawyers said.

Three of the defendants, an Egyptian and two Thais, were arrested last May ahead of a visit to Cambodia by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, as police announced they had broken up a radical Islamic network.

They will face court along with a Cambodian suspect, 23-year- old Sman Ismael who was arrested in June, and another Egyptian who will be tried in absentia, said Kao Soupha, the lawyer for the first three defendants.

"I am ready to defend my clients during the trial," he said, insisting along with Sman Ismael's lawyer Mach Try that the men had done nothing wrong.

"I strongly hope that my client will receive justice from the court," Mach Try said. "There has been no proof that my client was involved with JI."

All five face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The case was postponed last year when the presiding judge said more concrete evidence against the defendants was needed before bringing them to trial. -- AFP