SIEM REAP, Cambodia: A Cambodian court began the trial on Thursday of a British man who was among a group of foreigners arrested for allegedly posting photos on social media of sexually suggestive dancing.
Daniel Jones, who has been charged with producing pornography, appeared before the Siem Reap provincial court. He was among 10 Westerners arrested in late January for allegedly posting the photos from a party, and faces up to one year in prison if convicted. The other nine have been released on bail and were ordered deported last month.
One of the lawyers for the defendant, Ouch Sopheaktra, said the 31-year-old Jones was not granted bail and is the only one on trial because he organised the party.
Siem Reap provincial court spokesman Yin Srang said the court has set a one-day trial for Jones, but he didn't know whether the verdict would be issued the same day. He said the charges against the other nine have already been dropped.
The 10 Westerners -- five from the United Kingdom, two from Canada, and one each from Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand -- were detained when police raided a commercially organized party at a rented villa in Siem Reap town and found people dancing by a swimming pool at an event described as a pub crawl. Siem Reap is near the famous Angkor Wat temple complex.
Police said those caught in the raid had been “dancing pornographically” and offended Cambodian standards of morality.
(Video YouTube/United News International)
Ouch Sopheaktra said he will argue that there was not enough evidence to convict Jones because the charge relies on images of Westerners posted on social media to advertise a party.
“As a foreigner, my client thinks that the pictures that were posted on social media were not unlawful, as he thought those photos were used only as advertisements. I also don't see those photographs as basis for the court to use as the main evidence to accuse and convict him,” he said.
Those in the group who have spoken publicly denied the allegations.