Phnom Penh – Philippe Broaly, a convicted child sex offender and NGO director, left Cambodia for France immediately after he had been released on 2 July 2015 despite an ongoing appeal in which several points in his case were under review.
The release of Broaly has caused deep frustration among child protection NGOs in Cambodia who view the handling of this case as unacceptable. The release made the victims’ relatives fearful and is disheartening to those who work to safeguard children nationwide. We urge relevant parties to take all possible and legislative measures to stop this man from harming more children.
Mr. Samleang Seila, Executive Director of APLE, said after the release, “There’s no justice for the victims. The victims and families remain fearful of his return. We call for immediate action by the French authority to reinvestigate the case and seek justice for our children.”
In May 2015, Philippe Broaly, a French national, was convicted for sexual crimes against five boys over an extended period. However, he was only sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, 5.5 months of which were suspended. During the hearing, Broaly denied all the wrongdoings despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary. As a result of the lenient sentence, Broaly was released from the prison while the case is still ongoing at the Appeal Court.
Seventeen child protection NGOs filed a petition to the Prosecutor General attached to the Appeal Court, which led him to file an appeal against the verdict by the Preah Sihanouk provincial court. The petition on this case to the Appeal Court was filed on 12 June 2015 and signed by 17 NGOs as follows. The appeal was signed off on 16 June 2015 by the Appeal Court.
This Joint Press Statement is supported by the following NGOs:
- Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE)
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Licadho)
- Cambodian National Research Organization (CNRO)
- Cambodia ACTs
- Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC)
- Centro Cooperazione Sviluppo Onlus (CCS)
- Chab Dai Coalition (CDC)
- Child Helpline Cambodia (CHC)
- First Step Cambodia (FSC)
- Friends International (FI)
- International Justice Mission (IJM)
- Khmer Women’s Cooperation for Development (KWCD)
- Let Us Create (LUS)
- Licadho Canada (LC)
- M’lop Tapang (MT)
- Operations Enfants du Cambodge (OEC)
- Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (PSE)
- World Hope International (WHI)
