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PAEDOPHILE

Swiss paedophile, 81, jailed in Cambodia

A Cambodian court on Friday jailed an 81-year-old Swiss man after he had paid sex with a 13-year-old boy, his lawyer and a child rights group said.

Published: 14 September 2012 14:27 CEST

Hugo Leuthold, who had already been jailed once in Cambodia on similar charges, was arrested in the capital Phnom Penh in March.

"The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and ordered that he be expelled from the country after serving the sentence," Leuthold's lawyer Dun Vibol told AFP, adding his client denied the charges and will appeal the sentence.

Rights group Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) said it was Leuthold's second conviction for child sex crimes in Cambodia after he was given two years for sexually abusing four boys, aged between 11 and 13, in 2010.

He served only 10 months in jail, APLE said, adding there were no details as to why he was not deported after his release.

The court ordered him on Friday to pay $500 to the victim in compensation, according to APLE, which provided legal counsel for the boy.

Leuthold was also arrested in September 2010 in Thailand on suspicion of molesting a 12-year-old boy at a Thai seaside resort but was later granted bail, APLE said.

Dozens of foreigners have been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries since Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in 2003 in a bid to shake off its reputation as a haven for sex predators.

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CAMBODIA

Austrian far-right politicians under fire for praising Cambodian vote

Austria's foreign minister on Friday (Aug 10) distanced herself from comments made by two of her far-right party colleagues, who described Cambodia's July elections as "very professional".

Published: 11 August 2018 08:38 CEST
Austrian far-right politicians under fire for praising Cambodian vote
Freedom Party (FPOe) MP Axel Kassegger travelled to Cambodia with Johannes Huebner, a former FPOe parliamentarian. Photo: AFP

Freedom Party (FPOe) MP Axel Kassegger travelled to Cambodia with Johannes Huebner, a former FPOe parliamentarian, to observe the July elections at the invitation of the Southeast Asian country's long-serving leader Hun Sen.

Hun Sen's (seen below) ruling party is expected to take all 125 spots in parliament when official results are announced next week, cementing Cambodia's status as a one-party state.

The controversial election was held without the main opposition party on the ballot after it was dissolved by a Cambodian court last year.

Photo: AFP

Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl told Austrian news agency APA that neither she nor her ministry was aware of the two men's trip.

“At no time did we have any contact to these election observers and (access to) their opinion,” she said, adding she was unsure how the invitation to them had come about.

Kassegger and Huebner have been widely criticised over what they said was a “private trip”, where they met Cambodian officials.

The party of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (middle) won an estimated 100 out of 125 parliamentary seats in the recent election, in which more than 82 per cent of those registered to vote did cast a ballot.

Austria's foreign ministry has previously said that the Cambodian elections were not based on “fair and democratic principles”, in line with concerns expressed by the EU, the US and non-governmental groups. Austria currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Criticism of Kassegger and Huebner has also come from a top politician from the People's Party (OeVP), which has ruled Austria since December in a coalition with the FPOe.

OeVP EU parliamentarian Othmar Karas described the pair's comment as a “provocation” that was counterproductive to Austrian and European interests.