Punishment sentenced to woman who throws a shoe at a political billboard

Earlier this year in Cambodia, a woman named Sam Sokha has been sentenced to a combination of more than three years of jail term following her act of throwing a shoe at a ruling party billboard on which Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen’s image was printed. Evident from the title the Phnom Penh Post decided on, the term ‘shoe thrower’ is used to identify Sokha. In a similar fashion, other media sources from other parts of the world such as The Seattle Times and USNews have also styled their titles by identifying her as ‘Cambodian shoe thrower’. 

In the article, Phan Seangly reports Sokha’s apology to PM Hun Sen following her jail sentence. Sokha’s struggles are enumerated and piled one after the other — seeing as some of her struggles are extremely personal, it makes one wonder if the media and reports are out of line with the vast amount of personal information surrounding her life is disseminated to the public. It can also be gathered that Sokha has pinned a lot of her problems on the ruling party and bureaucracy systems. The Phnom Penh Post article also includes Sokha’s explanation for her actions — that she was ‘stupid and illiterate, making her believe incitement from opposition party figures’. It is surprising how openly it is mentioned that the opposition party encouraged her behaviour. On one level, it appears as though individual agency and one’s understanding and conduct (actions and words) are heavily influenced by political leaders, ruling or otherwise. On another level, it also shows the power of political parties manifesting physically — her one display of defiance against political leaders warrants such heavy punishment. 

The involvement of neighbouring country Thailand was also crucial in this situation — this particular article mentions her ‘seeking refuge’ and later on ‘deportation’ from Thailand, which was heavily criticised in other articles in both Cambodian and international news outlets. One particular report in the Phnom Penh Post by Niem Chheng and Ananth Baliga includes dialogue with Amnety spokesperson Olof Blomqvist, that “Hun Sen is making good on his threats that he is ‘watching’ Cambodians abroad who voice dissent against the authorities.” — this, combined with more articles and discussions that surround issues on human rights regarding Sokha’s forced repatriation, also paints an image of Cambodia’s political policies and in general, how uninvolved parties look at the situation.

It was interesting how international news articles were filled with enragement and disagreement against how the entire issue has been dealt with — I wonder if these articles could be considered as ‘pressure’ from other countries to change the system and to defend Sokha.

I was also left questioning after reading these articles, like how the punishment was determined— would it have been the same if a given person threw the shoe at something or someone else? The fact that she had to request for ‘pardon’ — what are the dynamics in the relationship between the political leaders in the country? Was it possible for her to get a lawyer despite the seemingly strong enforcement against her by the authorities?

REFERENCED AND RELEVANT ARTICLES

Seangly, P. (2018). ‘Shoe thrower’ Sam Sokha sends apology to PM. The Phnom Penh Post. Link: https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/shoe-thrower-sam-sokha-sends-apology-pm

Chheng, N. and Baliga, A. (2018). ’Shoe thrower’, extradited after seeking refuge in Thailand, gets two-year jail sentence. The Phnom Penh Post. Link: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/shoe-thrower-extradited-after-seeking-refuge-thailand-gets-two-year-jail-sentence

Chakrya, K.S., and Baliga, A. (2018). ‘Shoe thrower’ Sam Sokha deported from Thailand. The Phnom Penh Post. Link: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/shoe-thrower-sam-sokha-deported-thailand

Baliga, A. and Chheng, N. (2018).Woman who threw shoe at CPP billboard ‘pressed’ to return. The Phnom Penh Post. https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/woman-who-threw-shoe-cpp-billboard-pressed-return

Baliga, A. and Chheng, N. (2018). ‘Shoe thrower’, extradited after seeking refuge in Thailand, gets two-year jail sentence. The Phnom Penh Post. Link: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/shoe-thrower-extradited-after-seeking-refuge-thailand-gets-two-year-jail-sentence

The Associated Press. (2018). Cambodian shoe-thrower arrested after Thailand deports her. The Seattle Times. Link: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/cambodian-shoe-thrower-arrested-after-thailand-deports-her/

USNews. (2018). US Criticizes Thailand for Deporting Cambodian Shoe Thrower. USNews. Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-02-12/us-criticizes-thailand-for-deporting-cambodian-shoe-thrower