Australian filmmaker jailed for six years in Cambodia over ‘spying’ with drone at rally

An Australian filmmaker arrested in Cambodia for flying a drone over an opposition rally was today found guilty of espionage and sentenced to six years in jail.

James Ricketson, 69, had insisted he was merely taking photos for a documentary.

But prosecutors argued that he had used journalism as a front for spying, citing links to former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party. Ricketson shouted, “Who am I spying for?” as he was driven away from court in the capital Phnom Penh in a prison van this morning.

The CNRP was Cambodia’s main political opposition until it was dissolved by the Supreme Court last November, accused by the Government of plotting to seize power with the help of the United States.

The prosecution also accused Ricketson of treason, saying he planned to overthrow the country’s strongman prime minister Hun Sen, and illegally give information to foreign governments.

He has been in jail since his arrest last July.

The Bafta-winning Australian director Peter Weir testified in his defence, telling the trial that his friend was a victim of an “unfortunate misunderstanding”. “He’s an artist,” he told the three-judge panel. “We’re strange people but we’re pretty harmless.”

Character witnesses also testified to Ricketson’s financial generosity to people in need in the country. The filmmaker has been travelling there for 22 years to record the lives of poor Cambodians, relatives said.

The evidence presented against Ricketson appeared thin, but Cambodia’s courts are considered highly politicised and their rulings often align closely with the ruling party’s agenda.

A handful of personal emails suggested Ricketson was sympathetic to the opposition and critical of Hun’s government, but revealed no sensitive or secret information.

Outside court, his son Jesse, who relocated to Phnom Penh to help co-ordinate the defence, said he and his family were “utterly devastated”.

He added: “All my thoughts are for my dad and how he must be feeling right now, sitting in a hot prison truck facing what could be the last years of his life in jail.”