Cambodia has deported seven out of a group of 10 foreigners who were charged with producing pornography in connection with a party in Siem Reap, a court said yesterday.
The 10 were arrested on Jan. 25, along with 77 other foreigners, in a raid on a commercially organized party at a rented villa called the “Pub Crawl or Let’s Get Wet” in Siem Reap, near the Angkor Wat ruins.
The Siem Reap Provincial Court, which last week granted bail to the seven, had also ordered them to leave Cambodia, court spokesman Yin Srang said.
“A judge said that they must leave the country, that they must not return, and that they must not gather in a group and party,” he said.
The court charged the 10 foreigners, among them citizens of Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, on Jan. 29 with producing pornography for their roles in organizing the party. All 10 denied the charges.
Defense lawyer Ouch Sopheaktra said the three remaining foreigners still in detention — from Britain, the Netherlands and Norway, would soon be put on trial.
The three are considered organizers of the event.
The only women among the 10, Canadians Eden Kazoleas and Jessica Drolet, arrived by plane in Toronto on Friday night, and spoke briefly to the media.
“I’m very happy to be home, I’m grateful to be in Canada,” 19-year-old Kazoleas said. “I look forward to seeing my family and my parents, who have done absolutely everything they could to bring me home.”
Kazoleas thanked Cambodian authorities for their “understanding,” adding: “I did not know, nor did I think attending a pool party would be offensive in Cambodian culture.”
Additional reporting by AP
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