Convicted Cambodian Murderer Offered 3000 Euro After Human Right’s Court Ruling
A Cambodian “psychopath” convicted of murder in Belgium has been awarded 3000 Euros in compensation after a court ruling that his interrogation was s violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Well known in Belgian underworld circles, and supposedly a former child soldier during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, Dara Som, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in October 2010 by the assizes court in Liège to 30 years in prison for the shooting of a baker in Boncelles.
Described as a loner with little morality at his trial over the killing of Jean Pierre De Bakker, which occurred in 2007, Advocate General Didier Maréchal said ” It is the maximum penalty that must be applied to Dara Som. His personality is disturbing while his reactions are unpredictable and extremely dangerous. This accused is described as a severe psychopath who has no remorse and draws no lessons from his previous experiences. He has already been sentenced three times for extremely serious crimes. Dara Som is a loner who lives with a young morality. He has a passion for weapons that he masters”.
However, Som and others have claimed compensation from the Belgian state.
27 convicts cited the same reason: during their interrogation they received no assistance from their lawyer at the time, they were not informed of their right to remain silent and the right to not accuse themselves.
On November 9, 2018, the great chamber of the European Court of Human Rights condemned the Belgian State in a similar case. It concerned the judgment in the case of Beuze versus Belgium, in which a man was convicted, inter alia, for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. For the ECtHR, the sentenced person’s access to his lawyer was restricted by the Belgian authorities. Conclusion: a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“The letter we received from the European Court of Human Rights expressly refers to this judgment”, said lawyer Kristiaan Vandenbussche. “A representative of the Belgian State therefore proposes a fee of 3,000 euros for each name on the list. The only condition: that they leave the Belgian State alone. “
