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This page last updated July 16 2006
2006-0316 - Dominion Post -
Wife stands by 'kind' Cleghorn
The Cambodian
wife of a New Zealand man jailed for 20 years on child rape charges is
standing by him, despite having a baby to another man……. Cleghorn, a former
aid worker, was a kind man who was generous beyond his means, she said. "When I met him, I love him already.
Even when the Khmer Rouge were here and killing, killing, I do not leave him.
2006-0311 - Manawatu
Standard - Cleghorn gets re-appeal
A New
Zealander serving 20 years in jail for raping five young Cambodian women will
be allowed to re-appeal his case after his first appeals hearing was held in
secret, officials said yesterday. "I will intervene in the Court of
Appeal so that they can hear the case as soon as possible. The case must get
a re-hearing," said Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana
2006-0311 - NZ Herald - NZer's
appeal against paedophile conviction 'granted'
Cambodia
has greed to hear the appeal of New Zealander Graham Cleghorn's who is
serving a 20-year jail term in the country for child rape, the Associated
Press reported. New Zealand's ambassador in Bangkok met Cambodia's Justice
Minister yesterday to present grounds for a rehearing of an appeal.
2006-0310 - Stuff - Convicted NZ
rapist to get rehearing
 New Zealand ambassador to Thailand
Peter Rider has confirmed that a New Zealander jailed for rape of five girls
in Cambodia is set to have an appeal against his conviction reheard. …..Mr
Rider met with Cambodia's Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs yesterday, who confirmed local authorities will consider a new
hearing for Cleghorn. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman Helen
Tunnah said the decision was made because neither Cleghorn nor his lawyer
received advice of an earlier appeal hearing in January, so were not present.
2006-0310 - One News - Decision on
Cleghorn appeal wanted
New
Zealand's ambassador to Thailand says he will urge the Cambodian government
to make a swift decision about whether to rehear an appeal for a New Zealand
man jailed for rape
2006-0310 - NZ Herald -
Ambassador to push for paedophile appeal in Cambodia
New
Zealand's ambassador in Bangkok is to meet Cambodia's Justice Minister later
today to present grounds for a rehearing of an appeal against Graham
Cleghorn's conviction and 20 year jail term for child rape. Former aid worker,
Cleghorn, 55, was jailed in February 2004 for the rape of five teenage girls
of which he has protested his innocence. He is being held in Phnom Penh's
Prey Sar prison.
2006-0310 - Dominion
Post - Cambodia considers Cleghorn appeal
New
Zealander Graham Cleghorn's fight for a new appeal against a 20-year jail
term for child rape convictions has received its second boost in as many
days. Bangkok-based New Zealand ambassador Peter Rider met Cambodia's
secretary of state for the Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday before meeting
Cleghorn in prison early today. The minister said Cambodian authorities would
consider a new hearing, reinforcing comment by Justice Minister Ang Vong
Vathana that he was almost certain to grant a re-trial for Cleghorn because
of the unusual circumstances of the case.
2006-0309 - NZ Herald -
Cleghorn appeal to be reheard, says Minister
A New
Zealander jailed for the rape of five girls in Cambodia is to have his appeal
against conviction reheard. Cambodian Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said
he was ready to accept a request by Graham Cleghorn, 59, because the original
appeal was held without Mr Cleghorn's presence, knowledge or his embassy
being informed
2006-0309 - Dominion Post -
Cleghorn may get chance for rehearing
Cambodia's
Justice Minister has indicated that New Zealander Graham Cleghorn might get a
chance to re-appeal his child rape conviction and 20-year jail sentence. Ang
Vong Vathana said yesterday that he would almost certainly grant a re-appeal
if approached by Cleghorn's lawyer. The concession was made just hours before
New Zealand's Thailand-based ambassador Peter Rider flew into the capital,
Phnom Penh, to further investigate Cleghorn's plight.
2006-0308 - TVNZ: Closeup -
Transcript
Dy
Borima; Cambodian lawyer acting for Graham Cleghorn
Charlotte Glennie: Cleghorn was originally convicted in a trial which lasted
nine hours, and his lawyer didn’t speak. Earlier this year Cleghorn’s appeal
was heard in Phnom Penh.
Dy Borima: (Cambodian lawyer acting for Graham Cleghorn): Graham was not in the courtroom. Nor was he
in the vicinity of the courtroom. None of his witnesses or his lawyer was
there in the courtroom. Only the prosecutor’s representative was there, and
three girls.
2006-0308 - TVNZ: Closeup - Kiwi in
Cambodia claims innocence
Charlotte
Glennie of TVNZ
For two years New Zealander Graham Cleghorn has been locked up in a Cambodian
jail serving a 20 year sentence for the rape of five teenage girls. He says
he's innocent and claims to be the victim of a set-up by the Cambodian
Women's Crisis Centre (CWCC). Cleghorn, 58, was originally convicted in a
trial which lasted nine hours and his lawyer didn't speak. Then earlier this
year Cleghorn's appeal was heard in Phnom Penh, without his knowledge.
"Graham was not in the courtroom, no embassy representative was in the
courtroom, none of his witnesses or the lawyer were there in the courtroom...
only the CWCC representative was there and three girls," says Cleghorn's
Cambodian lawyer Dy Borima - one of the country's top criminal lawyers.
2006-0308 - Dominion Post - NZ
envoy to visit Cleghorn in jail
by Keri
Welham - New Zealand's ambassador in Thailand will arrive in Cambodia today
to visit jailed Kiwi Graham Cleghorn and raise his treatment on rape charges
with …….The ambassador, Peter Rider, and British officials based in Cambodia
acting on New Zealand's behalf, have visited Cleghorn a total of 12 times
since he was arrested in 2003. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said Mr Rider
would arrive in Cambodia today and would spend two days meeting Cleghorn, his
lawyer, and Cambodian Justice Ministry officials.
2006-0307 – NZ Herald –
Ambassador looking into convicted rapist's case
NZPA - The
New Zealand Ambassador in Thailand is to seek a meeting with the Cambodian
Justice Minister over convicted New Zealand rapist Graham Cleghorn's case. A
Foreign Affairs spokesman said the ambassador, Peter Rider, goes to Cambodia
tomorrow. He will also try to see Cleghorn and his lawyer
2006-0307 - Waikato Times -
Rape case meeting
New
Zealand's ambassador in Thailand is to seek a meeting with the Cambodian
Justice Minister over convicted New Zealand rapist Graham Cleghorn's case
2006-0306 - Taranaki
Daily News - Kiwi pleads for fair trial
Cambodian Correctional Center
Graham Cleghorn is pleading with
the New Zealand Government to get him a fair hearing that he hopes will save
him from the hellish conditions of his Cambodian prison cell. Cleghorn said
he had lost more than 10kg while in jail. He is pale and has difficulty
breathing after the short walk from the cramped cell he shares with about two
dozen men, whose convictions range from stealing chickens to murder.
2006-0306 - Southland Times
- Accusers of jailed Kiwi hit back
Ms
Chanthol of CWCC,
by Keri Welham - The Cambodian group accused of bribing teenage girls to
falsely testify against convicted Kiwi rapist Graham Cleghorn has broken its
silence with claims he filled his home with girls as young as 11.
2006-0306 - NZ Herald - Cleghorn's
Cambodia home 'filled with girls'
NZPA - Convicted
New Zealand rapist Graham Cleghorn filled his home with young girls, says the
Cambodian group accused of bribing teenagers to falsely testify against
him……The centre hit back today with claims in The Dominion Post newspaper
that the former Petone man and his wife, Buot Touer, found poor village girls
to live with them as house servants. It said some of the 10 servants were
made to massage Cleghorn at night and five testified that he raped them
2006-0306 - Dominion Post -
'If New Zealand can't help me, I would want to die'
by Bronwyn
Sloan - Graham Cleghorn says he has lost more than 10 kilograms in jail. He
is pale and has difficulty catching his breath after the short walk from his
cramped cell, which he shares with about two dozen other men – whose
convictions range from stealing chickens to murder. He complains of chest
pain, numbness in his feet and says all his teeth have rotted since he began
his 20-year sentence for rape
2006-0306 - Dominion Post -
Home 'filled with girls'
Cambodian Womens Crisis Center (CWCC);
(equivalent to NZ Womens Refuge) - accused of offering bribes for testimony
by Keri Welham - The Cambodian group accused of bribing teenage girls to
falsely testify against convicted Kiwi rapist Graham Cleghorn has broken its
silence with claims he filled his home with girls as young as 11……… The
centre has hit back with claims Cleghorn and his wife procured girls from
poor villagers to live with them as house servants. It said some of the 10
servants were made to massage Cleghorn at night and five testified that he
raped them.
2006-0227 - NZ Herald - Jailed
NZer may have to wait months for Cambodia appeal
NZPA - A
New Zealand man jailed for 20 years in Cambodia for sex crimes might still
have months to wait before another appeal can be heard………."He's been in
jail for two years. It has been more than a year now since the appeal process
started. I don't think that's unusual in cases like this.
2006-0227 - The Press - Long wait
for Cambodia conviction appeal
A New
Zealand man jailed for 20 years in Cambodia for sex crimes might still have
months to wait before another appeal can be heard……. Earlier National Radio
reported that last month an appeal had been heard in Cambodia on behalf of
Cleghorn, yet he was not notified. The unsuccessful appeal did not allow
Cleghorn to present written statements from all five women he was convicted
of raping which stated the sex crimes didn't take place.
2006-0227 - Stuff - Jailed NZer
abandoned by Govt - daughter
NZPA - The
daughter of a New Zealand man who has been jailed for 20 years for sex
offences in Cambodia says she feels the New Zealand Government has abandoned her
father. Former aid worker Graham
Cleghorn, 55, was jailed in February 2004 and is being held in Phnom Penh's
Prey Sar prison. Ms Madeley said the Government had not been
"forthcoming" in giving her father any assistance since his arrest.
"It's like it's somebody else's problem." Ms Madeley said she
visited Cleghorn in August, and realised he was not well.
2006-0227 - One News - Answers
wanted in Cleghorn case
New
Zealand's ambassador to Thailand expects to find out within the next two
weeks why a New Zealand man's court appeal in Cambodia was heard without his
knowledge……His lawyer wants to present evidence from the women stating the
sex crimes never happened. Ambassador Peter Rider says he is waiting to have
meetings confirmed with the Cambodian Court of Appeal president and the
Justice Minister. He plans to discuss with them the process of serving
appeals and how to keep the New Zealand and British embassies informed of
progress in Cleghorn's case
2006-0226 - Newstalk ZB -
Ambassador to help Cleghorn
Our
ambassador to Thailand is planning to go to Cambodia to discuss Graham
Cleghorn's appeal. The 55 year old New Zealander is serving 20 years in a
Phnom Penh prison for the rape of five teenage girls, but he says he is
innocent. The Cambodian court heard an appeal several weeks ago, but Mr
Cleghorn was not notified
2006-0226 - Stuff - NZ ambassador
to discuss jailed Kiwi's case in Cambodia
NZPA - New
Zealand's ambassador to Thailand has asked to meet with senior Cambodian
officials to discuss why an appeal on behalf of a jailed New Zealander went
ahead without the man's knowledge……. It has been reported that several weeks
ago an appeal had been heard in Cambodia on behalf of Cleghorn, yet he was
not notified. The unsuccessful appeal
did not allow Cleghorn to present written statements from all five women he was
convicted of raping which stated the sex crimes didn't take place.
2006-0226 - NZ Herald - NZ
ambassador to discuss Cleghorn's case in Cambodia
New
Zealand's ambassador to Thailand has asked to meet with senior Cambodian
officials to discuss why an appeal on behalf of a jailed New Zealander went
ahead without the man's knowledge.
2006-0225 - Dominion Post -
Living hell in a Cambodian cell
by Matthew Torbit - A world away from his homeland, Kiwi Graham Cleghorn sits
in a filthy, overcrowded Cambodian prison cell. Waiting. More than two years
after he was convicted of raping five teenage Cambodian girls, the former
traffic officer, paramedic and aid worker sits in his maximum-security prison
cell, waiting to find out if he will ever get the chance to clear his name of
crimes he says he did not commit. "If I was in here for murder, I would
walk around here with my head held high. I would rather be called a murderer.
To be called a sex offender, to be charged with rape -- rape I didn't commit
-- that takes every last shred of dignity," he said in November.
2006-0223 - NZ Herald -
Daughter fears for imprisoned father's life
NZPA - The
daughter of New Zealander Graham Cleghorn says her father will die soon due
to appalling conditions in his Cambodian prison cell, the Dominion Post
reported today……. Heidi Madeley, 33, visited her father in August last year
and said he was so ill and emaciated she didn't recognise him. "He's
lost a lot of weight. He's lost most of his teeth because of the prison diet.
What little food he does get he can't chew. He's getting sicker and sicker by
the minute," she said.
2006-0223 - Dominion Post -
Save my dad, daughter begs Kiwi politicians
 Graham Cleghorn and daughter
Heidi
by Matthew Torbit - The daughter of jailed Kiwi Graham Cleghorn is calling on
New Zealand politicians to step in to save her seriously ill father, who she
believes will be dead within months as he "rots" in his squalid
Cambodian prison cell. Cleghorn, 58, a former Wellington traffic officer,
paramedic and aid worker, is serving 20 years in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar
maximum security prison after having been convicted of raping five teenage
Cambodian girls. He maintains his innocence.
2006-0222 - NZ Herald - Sex scam
puts Kiwi's conviction in doubt
A New
Zealand man serving 20 years in a Cambodian prison on sex charges could have
fallen victim to the same scam that resulted in a Swiss man being falsely
jailed. Former aid worker Graham Cleghorn, 55, was jailed in February 2004
and is being held in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison. He is serving 20 years for
the rape of five teenage girls - crimes he denies.
2006-0222 - One News - Call for
action over jailed Kiwi's trial
The lawyer
for a New Zealand man serving 20 years in a Cambodian prison says New Zealand
politicians should be speaking out about his client's right to a fair
trial………King says that he would like to see more politicians speaking out
about Cleghorn's case and the importance of a fair trial. He compared the reaction of New Zealand
politicians to the reaction of Australian politicians over the trial of young
Australian drug traffickers in Bali..
2006-0221 - Dominion Post -
Kiwi 'victim of copycat sex sting'
by Matthew
Torbit - A Swiss man falsely jailed on sex charges in Cambodia believes New
Zealander Graham Cleghorn is a victim of the same scam that saw him spend
time behind bars……… In October 2002, Swiss hotelier Rudolf Knuchel
successfully defended molestation charges brought against him by the
Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre -- the same organisation alleged to have
offered five Cambodian girls US$10,000 to accuse Cleghorn of rape. Mr Knuchel, 59, has since received an apology
from the Cambodian interior minister and continues to live in Siam Reap. He
said he was arrested in 2000 on charges including raping two boys,
trafficking women and children for prostitution, running a brothel, and drug
and organ trafficking.
2006-0220 - Newstalk ZB -
Officials seek clarification on jailed NZer
There
appears to be little New Zealand can do in the case of a New Zealand man
serving 20 years for sex offences in Cambodia. The five teenagers who made
allegations against Graham Cleghorn are reported to have since retracted
them.
2006-0219 - Sunday Star Times -
Cambodian jail 'will kill Kiwi inmate'
by Helen Bain - A New Zealand man imprisoned on rape charges in Cambodia even though
the teenage complainants retracted their evidence will probably die in jail
unless action is taken to free him, his lawyer says. Graham Cleghorn, a
former aid worker who lived in Petone before leaving New Zealand, was
convicted and sentenced to 20-30 years jail in February 2004, but all five
teenage complainants have since made written statements that the rapes did
not happen. But Cleghorn remains behind bars in Pnomh Penh's Prey Sar prison.
2006-0219 - Newstalk ZB - NZ must
seek clarification of man's status
There are
claims there is little New Zealand can do over the case of one of its
nationals who is serving 20 years for sex offences in Cambodia. The five
teenage girls who made the sex allegations against Graham Cleghorn are
reported to have since retracted them. Now it has come to light that an
unsuccessful appeal against Mr Cleghorn's sentence was held in secret last
month without his lawyer or New Zealand officials knowing.
2006-0218 - Radio NZ - NZer jailed
in Cambodia devastated at missing his own appeal
A New
Zealand man jailed in Cambodia on sex charges is devastated his appeal has
been heard without his knowledge. In 2004 Graham Cleghorn, formerly of
Petone, was convicted of raping five women and jailed for 20 years. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFat) says it has only just discovered an appeal
for Cleghorn's case was heard in January, without his knowledge
2006-0218 - One News - Foreign
affairs to help jailed NZ man
Foreign
affairs has stepped in to help a New Zealand man serving a 20-year jail term
in Cambodia for multiple sex offences. The official involvement follows
concerns about evidence used to convict former aid worker Graham Cleghorn and
the way his recent appeal was handled. Cleghorn, 55, was sentenced in 2004,
but his lawyer says he was set up, and his recent appeal breached all known
human rights.
2006-0218 - One News - Concern
for Kiwi prisoner in Cambodia
The New
Zealand lawyer representing a man jailed in Cambodia on sex charges says he
appalled that an appeal took place without his client's knowledge. Two years
ago Graham Cleghorn, 55, formally from Petone, was jailed for 20 years in
Cambodia on sex charges. Lawyer Greg King says his client did not know about
his appeal hearing, and was not present or represented
2006-0218 - Newstalk ZB -
Sex allegations 'made up'
There has
been new light shed on the case of a New Zealand man serving 20 years in a
Cambodian jail on sex charges. 55 year-old aid worker Graham Cleghorn
maintains he was framed by corrupt Cambodian officials. His lawyer Greg King
says evidence has now emerged proving the five teenaged girls who made sex
allegations against Mr Cleghorn were lying. Mr King says seven other girls
who were in the room at the time of the alleged offence now all say the
complainants made up their stories.
2006-0218 - The Press - NZ
intervenes for Kiwi jailed in Cambodia
by Matthew
Torbit - New Zealand diplomats have intervened in the case of a Kiwi man
serving 20 years in a Cambodian prison on sex charges -- after the teenage
girls all retracted their evidence against him. Graham Cleghorn, 55, a former
aid worker, is being held at Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison after he was jailed
for 20 years in February 2004. The New Zealand Government had already raised
concerns at the handling of Cleghorn's original trial -- which took just nine
hours. He was refused a translator, denied the right to call his own
witnesses and was not allowed to cross-examine prosecution witnesses.
2006-0218 - Dominion Post
- Girls take back rape allegations
Greg King
by Matthew Torbit - New Zealand diplomats have intervened in the case of a
Kiwi man serving 20 years in a Cambodian prison on sex charges – after the
teenage complainants all retracted their evidence against him……….. Cleghorn's
two daughters have hired prominent Wellington lawyer Greg King, who said he
was disgusted at the legal processes surrounding the case. He described the appeal dismissal as a
"breach of fundamental natural justice in every sense". Cleghorn
had pinned all of his hopes for freedom on the appeal. "And for that now
to be dismissed without him knowing, without him being present, without him
being represented, is abhorrent."
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