PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/ANN) - The Appeal Court will hear the case of a 24-year-old woman who was sentenced to 164 years of imprisonment in connection with killings and robbery offences.

The Appeal Court is set to hear the case of a 24-year-old woman who

was sentenced to 164 years imprisonment in connection with killings and

robbery offences on Friday.

Khieu Tola, the defence lawyer provided by the Cambodian Human Rights

Committee (CHRC) to represent the convict, told The Post on Thursday

that the Appeal Court is scheduled to hear Pech Sonet’s case on 26 July.

“Sonet was involved in nine cases of robberies and killings. But of

the nine cases, she was sentenced to 20 years in jail for one, while in

the eight other cases, she was sentenced to 18 years in jail for each,”

he said.

Another Defence Lawyer Lim Chanlida told The Post on Thursday that

the reason she had acted as a defence lawyer for Sonet is that CHRC

president Keo Remy was seeking a volunteer to defend Sonet.

When asked how hard it is to defend a woman sentenced to more

than 100 years in jail, she said she had never handled such a case

before. However, she has previously helped defend several cases where

the accused was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

“But there are no real difficulties because as a defence lawyer, we

have to try our best to help the accused. I did not receive any profits

from the case, but I am willing to defend Sonet,” she said.

On Friday, the Appeal Court will cite one case to be heard, whereas

eight other cases will be heard by the Appeal Court in August, Chanlida

said.

Last month, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court and the CHRC,

visited Sonet at Prey Sar prison. Following their visit, they arranged

to engage a defence lawyer for her to pave the way for the case to be

heard.

Speaking to The Post last month, CHRC spokesperson Chin Malin said

the committee had just thought of the future of her three-year-old son,

but it would not coordinate her cases at the courts.

The committee had found an organisation to help care for her son

while her nine cases were proceeding in the hands of the court. Leave

the cases to the Supreme Court to settle them following legal

procedures, he added.