PHNOM PENH, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The trial of jailed Australian filmmaker James Ricketson in a spy case ended in Cambodia on Wednesday with a verdict expected to be pronounced on Friday.
Ricketson, 69, was arrested on June 3, 2017 in Phnom Penh while flying a drone illegally to capture images of a rally by the court-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
He was charged with collecting information which could jeopardize Cambodia's national security with the intent to pass it on to a foreign entity. He is facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of espionage.
During the seven days of hearings, Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor Seang Sok showed a number of evidence against Ricketson including his emails to former CNRP leader Sam Rainsy on an anti-government strategy and his letter to then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urging him to cancel Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's visit to Australia, as well as his photographs and video clips of armed forces on duty.
The prosecutor said that Ricketson's humanitarian work with poor children in Cambodia was just a front to disguise his gathering information on Cambodia's national security.
However, Ricketson's defence rejected the allegations and found several witnesses to testify that their client was a "good man".
Ricketson had repeatedly denied the espionage charges, saying that he was not a spy but a journalist.
In a July 1 letter to Hun Sen published in the Khmer Times, the jailed filmmaker apologized for his mistake.
"I apologize unreservedly and without condition for any distress I may have caused as a result of my ignorance of Cambodian issues. If there is anything I can do to remedy my mistake, please let me know as I only want the best for you and Cambodia," the letter said.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court presiding judge Seng Leang said that a verdict for Ricketson will be pronounced on Aug. 31 at 8:30 a.m. local time.
