One of my priorities upon returning here was to find a friend who's gotten himself into trouble and is now a guest of the Cambodian judicial system. I knew very little of the case, only what had been posted in the papers, and even less about where he was being held. This man, who I'll refer to as "BT", was reported to have been arrested for being a sex predator and trafficker which completely goes against everything I knew and thought about him. So, after getting settled in, I spoke to my driver about the situation and made a plan to go to the prison to find out the real story.
On Sunday we drove to the prison, about 30 minutes from town. Along the way we stopped to buy cigarettes and toilet paper in the hopes that the prison officials could be "persuaded" to allow a visit
I pretty much stressed myself into a panic attack, as I was sure he was A- not going to be there, or not be allowed visitors. Or B - he'd be a beaten mess.
We arrived at the prison about 2pm. From the road you can only see the tall cement fence that encircles the camp. There is no large building like you'd see in the west. At the gate there was a small group gathered, waiting on entrance. We stood in line and purchased a ticket for visiting. The 3000 riel ( 75 cents) per prisoner, and from what I could see there was no limit on how many people could enter on one ticket. Most of the visitors were women and children, all carrying bags of cooked food.
The cashier writes the prisoner and the visitors name on the receipt and sends you through the gate to the next security guard. Once inside the gates, bags are searched and all electronics, cameras and cell phones are confiscated. Of course today was the day that I was carrying a large camera and my ipad, so I was VERY worried about leaving my possessions but was assured that nothing would happen.
Pass the first check point and then sit and wait. Being the only barang (foreigner) in the waiting area, I felt like I was on display. I'm pretty used to it now, from being in the country for so long..but in this small group, along with my anxiety about what I was going to see, I could feel myself starting to shut down. I just wanted to GTFO. Although we were in a shaded area, it was still outside and it was HOT. Thank goodness the guard summoned us quickly.
We were lead to a small cement "room" for lack of a better description. A long bench seat on the visitor side of a half wall, and a matching bench on the prisoner side. The top of the wall is chicken wire, so no visual obstruction and the openings are large enough to touch fingers, or pass items through. All the visitors sit together, and as luck would have it I was sat next to a Cambodian woman with Tourettes who barked and twitched the whole time. (I wish I was making this up, but it's 100% true)
BT was already waiting when we went in. He is in great health and spirits and was quite surprised to see us. At that point I had a bit of a meltdown. All of my anxiety and fear fell away and tears took over. He assured me that he is fine, just waiting on the next step in the legal process. Here, once someone makes an allegation against you, you are arrested and held until you see a judge for formal charges. This could take up to 9 months, and you are not granted bail during this time. BT has been in the jail now for 3 months, and still awaiting formal charges. I don't want to share too much of his legal story, but most of the trouble written about in the press was inaccurate or just plain untrue. His crime was being a foolish old man who engaged the services of a (legal aged) prostitute and made some photos of them together. That constitutes production of pornography and is a felony here. He is unsure yet what the outcome will be, or when he will actually go to court on the matter.
Once we discussed the case, we were able to get down to the real business. What life is like "inside".
He said that the general population areas are 14 man cells with 1 meter by 1 meter wash up areas. The men sleep on mats on the floor and it is very crowded. All of the men get along well and there is little violence inside. There are other westerners there, mostly for drug crimes. His first night in he heard about VIP cells and was able to procure one for himself. Currently he has no roommate. A proper bed and ensuite bath. He is allowed to walk the grounds whenever he wants, unlike the others who have limited time outside of the cells. He has someone to do his cooking and laundry. He likened it to living in a health resort that you cannot leave. We had about 45 minutes together and then it was time to head back to the city. We made plans to visit again sometime next week. Visitation is allowed every day, but not very busy during the week because it is full price ($1.50), which is my most people come on Sundays.
Made our way back to the check in, and was very happy to see all of my belongings intact. Said goodbye to the barking lady and we were off. Never once did I have to bribe anyone with TP or smokes.
-Rhonda
On Sunday we drove to the prison, about 30 minutes from town. Along the way we stopped to buy cigarettes and toilet paper in the hopes that the prison officials could be "persuaded" to allow a visit
I pretty much stressed myself into a panic attack, as I was sure he was A- not going to be there, or not be allowed visitors. Or B - he'd be a beaten mess.
We arrived at the prison about 2pm. From the road you can only see the tall cement fence that encircles the camp. There is no large building like you'd see in the west. At the gate there was a small group gathered, waiting on entrance. We stood in line and purchased a ticket for visiting. The 3000 riel ( 75 cents) per prisoner, and from what I could see there was no limit on how many people could enter on one ticket. Most of the visitors were women and children, all carrying bags of cooked food.
The cashier writes the prisoner and the visitors name on the receipt and sends you through the gate to the next security guard. Once inside the gates, bags are searched and all electronics, cameras and cell phones are confiscated. Of course today was the day that I was carrying a large camera and my ipad, so I was VERY worried about leaving my possessions but was assured that nothing would happen.
Pass the first check point and then sit and wait. Being the only barang (foreigner) in the waiting area, I felt like I was on display. I'm pretty used to it now, from being in the country for so long..but in this small group, along with my anxiety about what I was going to see, I could feel myself starting to shut down. I just wanted to GTFO. Although we were in a shaded area, it was still outside and it was HOT. Thank goodness the guard summoned us quickly.
We were lead to a small cement "room" for lack of a better description. A long bench seat on the visitor side of a half wall, and a matching bench on the prisoner side. The top of the wall is chicken wire, so no visual obstruction and the openings are large enough to touch fingers, or pass items through. All the visitors sit together, and as luck would have it I was sat next to a Cambodian woman with Tourettes who barked and twitched the whole time. (I wish I was making this up, but it's 100% true)
BT was already waiting when we went in. He is in great health and spirits and was quite surprised to see us. At that point I had a bit of a meltdown. All of my anxiety and fear fell away and tears took over. He assured me that he is fine, just waiting on the next step in the legal process. Here, once someone makes an allegation against you, you are arrested and held until you see a judge for formal charges. This could take up to 9 months, and you are not granted bail during this time. BT has been in the jail now for 3 months, and still awaiting formal charges. I don't want to share too much of his legal story, but most of the trouble written about in the press was inaccurate or just plain untrue. His crime was being a foolish old man who engaged the services of a (legal aged) prostitute and made some photos of them together. That constitutes production of pornography and is a felony here. He is unsure yet what the outcome will be, or when he will actually go to court on the matter.
Once we discussed the case, we were able to get down to the real business. What life is like "inside".
He said that the general population areas are 14 man cells with 1 meter by 1 meter wash up areas. The men sleep on mats on the floor and it is very crowded. All of the men get along well and there is little violence inside. There are other westerners there, mostly for drug crimes. His first night in he heard about VIP cells and was able to procure one for himself. Currently he has no roommate. A proper bed and ensuite bath. He is allowed to walk the grounds whenever he wants, unlike the others who have limited time outside of the cells. He has someone to do his cooking and laundry. He likened it to living in a health resort that you cannot leave. We had about 45 minutes together and then it was time to head back to the city. We made plans to visit again sometime next week. Visitation is allowed every day, but not very busy during the week because it is full price ($1.50), which is my most people come on Sundays.
Made our way back to the check in, and was very happy to see all of my belongings intact. Said goodbye to the barking lady and we were off. Never once did I have to bribe anyone with TP or smokes.
-Rhonda
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