August 4, 2017
Pech Sotheary / Khmer Times Share:

Venerable Dav Tep maintains that he was set up. Supplied

Former Khmer Kampuchea Krom Buddhist monk Dav Tep, who was sentenced to two years in prison for drug abuse and making a death threat, was released on Tuesday after serving his time.

Venerable Dav Tep, who often participated in Kampuchea Krom protests and visited the border demarcation between Cambodia and Vietnam, was arrested in August 2015 and later convicted by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of drug possession and death threats.

After serving his sentence, he decided to immediately return to the Samaki Raingsey Pagoda in Phnom Penh yesterday morning and again be ordained as a monk.

After the ceremony, Venerable Dav Tep remained defiant, claiming he was locked up over his activism and was innocent of all convictions levelled against him.

“It was an injustice,” he said. “I just went to check the border posts in Ratanakkiri, Kandal and Svay Rieng province. After returning, unidentified people took the drugs to put in my room to set me up.”

Venerable Dav Tep added that his time in prison has not deterred him from partaking in further activism, but rather emboldened him.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/5076530/activist-monk-fight-jail-release/