Two Cambodian generals accused of planning a deadly grenade attack on a demonstration in 1997 are scheduled to go on trial in Paris next week –- the first time a judicial body has sought to determine accountability for the notorious incident.
A French judge will interview witnesses in the case against Hing Bun Hieng and Huy Piseth from March 19-21, exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy said on Facebook on March 8.
Blasts from four grenades that went off in a park on March 30, 1997, where protesters had gathered killed 16 people and injured 150 others, blowing off the limbs of some. Sam Rainsy, the leader of the rally, is thought to have been the target of the attack but was uninjured.
Hing Bun Hieng was the commander of then-Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, while Huy Piseth was the commander of the army’s Brigade 70, which is responsible for capturing or killing high-value targets.
An FBI report indicated that Cambodian authorities possessed prior knowledge of the attack and that there was a possibility the attackers colluded with the bodyguard unit.
Former opposition party lawmaker Men Sothavarin told Radio Free Asia on Monday that the French judge has summoned victims and witnesses, as well as Hing Bun Hieng and Huy Piseth, to appear before the court.
“If they do not come, the court will try them in absentia,” he said of the two commanders.
No one was arrested
On the day of the attack, protesters had gathered in a Phnom Penh park across the street from Cambodia’s National Assembly to denounce the judiciary’s corruption and lack of independence.
According to eyewitness accounts, the people who threw the grenades ran toward Hun Sen’s riot gear-clad bodyguards, who allowed them to escape.
Because American citizen Ron Abney was among those seriously injured, the FBI sent investigators to Cambodia in the weeks after the attack. The bureau’s report was declassified in 2009.
But no one has ever been arrested for the attack, despite the large toll of death and dismemberment.
However, warrants for the arrests of Huy Piseth and Hing Bun Hieng were issued in 2021 by Judge Sabine Khéris, the deputy chief of investigation at the Paris Court of Justice.
The warrants were issued following a complaint by Sam Rainsy and his wife, Tioulong Saumura, who live in exile in France.
The court at first also summoned then-Prime Minister Hun Sen, but the French government later blocked the warrant, citing French law that gives immunity to heads of government.
‘Bodies all over the place’
Brad Adams, a former U.N. human rights worker, told RFA that he will give testimony at the court next week. In an interview, he recalled arriving at the park about 10 minutes after the blasts.
“There were bodies all over the place,” he said. “It is one of the worst things I have seen in my entire life.”
He described a scene in which soldiers actively interfered with efforts to help the wounded. When the police arrived a short time later, they initially just stood around.
“The only assistance came from civilians,” he said.
Hing Bun Hieng is now deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and also serves as the commander of Hun Sen’s family bodyguard unit.
Huy Piseth is currently a secretary of state at the Ministry of National Defense and deputy chief of staff to Prime Minister Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s son.
Hing Bun Hieng told RFA on Monday that he will not appear before the court or send a lawyer in his place. The case only arose because of Sam Rainsy’s emotional and unsubstantiated accusations, he said.
“He has accused me for more than 30 years, but there has never been any proper evidence,” he said. “Are there any photos showing me ordering the tossing of the grenades?”
He also denied any role in the attack during a 2022 interview with RFA in which he dared anyone to present evidence to the contrary.
“I already clarified this [with the FBI]. I wasn’t involved,” he said. “I don’t know anything.”
Hing Bun Heang was sanctioned by the U.S. government in June 2018 over his unit’s alleged role in the attack, as well as several other assaults on unarmed Cambodians.
Huy Piseth didn’t immediately respond to RFA’s attempt for comment this week. He has previously acknowledged to the FBI that he ordered the deployment of the 70th Brigade to the park on the day of the attack.
Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.