On 17th July a Cambodian court reduced the jail sentence of Karl Heinz Opitz, 66, to 10 years. The 2007 sentence gave him a 28 years in jail for getting girls as young as 10 into his apartment. The girls were provided by human traffickers. He used to tie the girls up, whip and rape them while filiming and taking photos until 4 consecutive hours.
5 victims and 2 human trafickers testified to the court in 2007. In the videos confiscated by the authorities, Opitz wears Nazi uniforms to abuse the girls. The court, then, got many other evidences such as sado-masoquist toys, devices and books of pornography.
With the jail sentence reduced from 28 to 10, Opitz will be free in two years (2007 - 2016). For many right groups in Cambodia, the jail reduction of this man does not bring justice to the victims.
Help us to request the Cambodian government to interven in this case and request the court to consider the back of the decision to reduce the sentence of Henning Karl Heinz Opitz, the master mind of what authoritres called "to be one of the most brutal pedophilia rings uncovered". The government should know that 28 year jail sentence actually is not enough for a person who destroyed the lives of innocent girls, using them as objects for his aberrations. Reducing his sentence would give a bad signal to the world that Cambodia does not care for crimes like this and let the victims alone.
For more information, please check:
- http://www.aplecambodia.org/media-center/field-updates/2003/175-09-october-supreme-court-sends-notorious-german-pedophile-s-case-back-to-the-appeal-court.html
- http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/139345
