Photo: RFA
A Cambodian fixer for Russian state-owned TV network Russia Today (RT) was released from prison Friday after completing his two-year term and paying 70 million riels (U.S. $17,200) in fines for “incitement,” although his case remains up in the air pending an appeal.
Rath Rott Mony fled Cambodia for Thailand to seek asylum after helping a visiting crew from RT to make a documentary about child prostitution in the country that was broadcast in October 2018. He was arrested by Thai police two months later and handed back to Cambodian authorities.
After a six-month investigation, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered Rath Rott Mony jailed for two years and fined him 35 million riels (U.S. $8,600) each to plaintiffs Keo Malai and Tep Sreylin, who said he had promised to help them solve a land dispute and open a shop if they made up stories about forcing their daughters into prostitution for the documentary, entitled “My Mother Sold Me.”