Minister of Justice Koeut Rith said at a workshop to disseminate information regarding a royal decree on sentence reductions and pardons on February 17, 2021. Hean Rangsey
Minister of Justice Koeut Rith requested that Phnom Penh municipal and provincial governors who serve as chairs of the commissions responsible for reducing inmates sentences and overseeing the pardon process focus their attention on efforts to grant clemency to inmates based on good behaviour while in prison rather than the length of their sentence or the crimes of which they were convicted.
Rith, who is also the chairman of the National Commission of Cambodia to Review and Request Sentence Reductions and Pardons, made the call while presiding over a meeting on February 17 to disseminate information regarding a royal decree on sentence reductions and pardons.
He said sentence reductions and pardons are useful tools for encouraging inmates to behave themselves while in custody.
If inmates behave well, he said, they can be pardoned or encouraged to continue to behave well with the hope of being pardoned sooner because any inmate who fails to do so will never be pardoned.
“Capital and provincial governors shall take on a major responsibility to evaluate sentence reduction or pardon.
“Your responsibility isn’t to just get a list of inmates who have served two-thirds of their time and then request a reduction and pardon automatically for them. You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“Prisons have a mechanism for inmates to compete for the privilege of receiving a pardon. But is there enough time spent on reviewing those on the list? It isn’t supposed to be the case that whatever 100 names get put on that list are always accepted and have their requests granted,” Rith said.
Chhem Savuth, the Ministry of Interior’s director-general of prisons, said all prisons and correctional centres had a commission conducting an evaluation for their inmates.
In order for each inmate to become a candidate for reduction or pardon, they have to undergo this process.
“The [evaluations] are conducted at each prison once a month and are only for convicts who have received a definitive verdict from the court.
“In short, an inmate must first be convicted of a crime and then sentenced in order for them to be eligible for a sentence reduction or pardon for that crime,” he said.
On January 12, King Norodom Sihamoni issued a new royal decree on sentence reductions and pardons. Article 3 stated that inmates can request sentence reduction and pardon during five holidays throughout the course of the year.
The five holidays include January 7 Victory Day; Khmer New Year; Visak Bochea Festival; Independence Day and Water Festival.
The decree said sentence reductions and pardons can also be requested during major national events and that convicts can also request reductions or pardons on the above-mentioned holidays separately or jointly.
Justice ministry secretary of state Kim Santepheap said the royal decree is an important tool for encouraging inmates to behave well.
“It encourages inmates to rehabilitate themselves while in prison because that is the main required condition so that they can receive pardons,” he said.
Santepheap said that last year, 1,753 inmates, including 113 women, had requested sentence reductions or pardons. Of the number, 931 inmates including 90 women received sentence reductions or pardons.
