Chhouk Rin appeals life sentence

Chhouk Rin appeals life sentence

CAMBODIA: Former Khmer Rouge commander Chhouk Rin said on Sunday
he had launched an appeal against his conviction and life
sentence handed down for the 1994 abduction and murder of three
Western backpackers.

"I asked my lawyer to fight this life sentence with the
Supreme Court. I don't accept this sentence because I am not
guilty. The sentence is an injustice to me," Chhouk Rin told AFP.

In September 2002, the appeals court reversed an earlier
decision and sentenced Chhouk Rin in absentia to life
imprisonment for the abduction-murder after he refused to appear
at the trial.

However, his lawyers successfully argued there had not been
enough time to prepare the case and won a full retrial in the
same court, which last month reaffirmed the 2002 verdict.

Australian David Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and
French national Jean-Michel Braquet, 27, were abducted from the
train traveling between Phnom Penh and the southern city of
Sihanoukville.

Thirteen Cambodians also died in the attack and the Westerners
were held for two months by Khmer Rouge rebels before ransom
negotiations failed and they were killed, triggering a huge
international outcry. -- AFP