History
On November 24, 2000, a Cambodian Freedom Fighters team of about seventy (CFF) agents slipped into the center of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Armed with B-40 rockets and assault rifles, they moved swiftly toward the Defence Ministry building and a military barracks. They attacked the Ministry of Defense and the Council of Ministers, peppering them with fire, then turned their weapons on a local television station and a nearby military base. State security forces engaged the group in a fierce firefight that lasted more than an hour, leaving bullet holes in ministry offices and blood pooled in the street. By daybreak, eight people lay dead. In the wake of the violence, more than 200 people, including Richard Kiri Kim, were arrested by the Cambodian police.
On June 22, 2001, the Cambodian Criminal Court handed down their verdict on the Cambodian Freedom Fighters’ attack of November 24, 2000. An Mao, Nou Saron, and three Cambodian-Americans (Richard Kiri Kim, Thong Samien, and Chhun Yasith) were sentenced to life in prison on charges of conspiring to commit terrorism. Chhun Yasith and Thong Samien were tried in absentia.
Twenty-four other men and one woman were found guilty of various charges and given prison terms ranging from three to 20 years. Among them were two prominent former Khmer Rouge commanders, Seng Narin and Tumlap Mil, who each received 15 years in prison.
Read more about this topic: Cambodian Freedom Fighters
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