The adopted daughter of an Australian filmmaker fears the man who saved her life will die in a Cambodian prison where he is being held without trial on spying charges.
James Ricketson, 68, has been locked up inside Phnom Penh’s squalid Prey Sar prison since June, when he was arrested and accused of espionage for flying a drone over an opposition political rally.
His adopted daughter Roxanne Holmes fears the man who took her off the streets, after filming a documentary, will die in the Cambodian capital.
The Sydney woman’s plea for help was made as the Cambodian Supreme Court on Wednesday delayed Mr Ricketson’s bail application until January 31.
James Ricketson, pictured on Wednesday outside the Cambodian Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, faces 10 years in jail for spying on behalf of a foreign state or agency
Roxanne Holmes fears her adopted father will die in a Cambodian jail
He faces 10 year in jail for the charge of spying for a foreign state or agency, after being linked with Cambodia’s new outlawed opposition party, the ABC reported.
‘Unless the Australian government responds quickly, my innocent dad could die in jail. I’m petrified – every day matters now as he gets sicker,’ Ms Holmes said on a change.org petition that will be delivered to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
‘I’m so worried for dad’s rapidly deteriorating health – he’s 68, frail and squashed in a tiny cell with 27 others. It’s so cramped, they have to take it in turns to lie down.
‘Body lice are eating him alive.’
Ms Holmes said her adopted father had saved her life when she was a troubled teenager.
Roxanne Holmes credits James Ricketson for saving her life when she was still a street kid
‘Dad was making a documentary about Australia’s abused street kids when he adopted me and loved me as his own daughter. He saved my life,’ she said.
‘He was one of the first men in my life to show me kindness but now the Australian government has turned their back on him.’
She said her adopted father would be the ‘worst spy ever’.
‘He is not a spy and never would be. James is my hero, he is the man who saved my life,’ Ms Holmes told 9News on Wednesday.
James Ricketson, pictured on Wednesday in Phnom Penh, had his bail decision delayed
‘But more importantly than saving me he has gone on to save so many other children and adults in Cambodia.
‘He does not deserve to be languishing in that prison. It’s gut wrenching and heart wrenching and I will move heaven and earth to bring him home.’
In her petition to the Australian government, Ms Holmes said her adopted father’s only crime was ‘kindness and using his award winning documentaries to portray the truth’.
On Wednesday, Mr Ricketson greeted reporters outside Cambodia’s Supreme Court in Phnom Penh.
‘Which country am I supposed to be spying for?,’ he asked as he walked in, handcuffed to another prisoner.
His lawyer Peung Hok Hiep said judges were busy with other cases when asked about the delay in his bail application, the ABC reported.