The trial of 20 alleged members of a rebel group blamed for an attack on government buildings in the Cambodian capital in 2000 began today.
The third mass trial of suspected members of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) got under way with 19 men and one woman in court to face charges of membership of an armed group and terrorism. The charges are linked to the November 2000 attack in Phnom Penh and another foiled attempt in September last year.
Gen Sok Phal of the Interior Ministry said the 20 suspects - including one Cambodian with US citizenship - were arrested after police uncovered the plans for a second attack. "The 20 were members of the CFF and under orders from their leader Chhun Yasith to take part in a second fighting operation," he said.
The rebels planned to use rocket launchers to attack several government buildings and petrol stations in Phnom Penh during a Buddhist festival, police said.
In the two previous mass trials, the Cambodian court sentenced 56 people to jail terms ranging from three years to life for their part in the November 2000 attack, which left at least four dead and over a dozen wounded.
CFF leader Chhun Yasith - an accountant based in Long Beach, California - claimed responsibility for masterminding both attacks. He has vowed to topple Prime Minister Mr Hun Sen's government, which he says is a communist puppet of neighbouring Vietnam.
Chhun Yasith and fellow CFF member Thong Samean - also a US citizen - were last year both sentenced in absentia by the Cambodian court to life in prison.
Richard Kiri Kim, who also holds US citizenship, is serving a life sentence in a Cambodian prison for leading the 2000 attack on Phnom Penh.