"RT ‘filmmaker’ given prison sentence", 27 June 2019

Phnom Penh Municipal Court delivered its verdict …, sentencing Rath Rott Mony to two years in prison and ordering him to pay a total of 70 million riel ($17,200) in compensation to two plaintiffs for his involvement in the controversial documentary, My Mother Sold Me.

At the court hearing …, Judge Koy Sao said the verdict was based on the prosecutor’s conclusion, all related evidence, and a thorough review of the plaintiffs’ and defendant’s statements…

Rott Mony’s defence lawyer Lor Chunthy told … that the verdict was handed despite numerous suspicious points in the case. He said he would consult with his client on whether to appeal the decision…

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson released a statement … denouncing the verdict and calling for Roth Mony’s release.

“The conviction of Mony should be quashed immediately, and he should be released to join his wife and young son,” he said…

The Russian state-owned RT also sent a letter to the Cambodian embassy in Moscow expressing its concerns over the situation.

Ekaterina Yakovleva, the head of RT’s documentary department, said in the letter that Rott Mony had worked with their crew only as a “fixer and interpreter” between January 22 and February 6 last year.

Yakovleva said the film production started in 2017 and had obtained permission from Cambodia’s Ministry of Information.

She stressed that RT’s crew had secured signed notes of consent from each of the main female characters for their appearance in the film.