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Court Delays Terrorism Verdict of 3 Men


The Supreme Court said it will rule March 12 on the life sentences of three suspected terrorists who made their final appeals Wednesday.

Supreme Court Judge Chhim Siphal said the courts needed more time to discuss the cases of Abdul Azi Jaiji Chiming and Muhammad Yalaludin Mading, who are Thai, and Sman Esma El, who is Cambodian.

Kao Sopha, defense lawyer for all three men, told VOA Khmer he was confident the men would be released.

During their hearing, the men denied they had plotted terrorist acts against the British and US embassies in Phnom Penh.

Sman Esma El said he had been offered money and a position of power for confessing to the charges against him in 2003.

"I was convicted at the order of top senior officials," Muhammad Yalaludin said.

"I didn't come to destroy Cambodia, like what I have been charged for," Abdul Azi said. "May Allah damn me and my seven-distant relatives if I colluded with terrorists. May Allah damn those who have charged me, and may their bloodline meet bad luck."

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