Julie Bishop urges Cambodia release Australian spy charges

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Cambodian authorities to release an Australian filmmaker accused of spying in the Southeast Asian nation. 

Ms Bishop has made formal diplomatic representations to her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn this month on behalf of James Ricketson.

The 68-year-old was arrested last June after flying a drone over a political protest in the capital Phnom Penh. 

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Cambodian authorities to release an Australian filmmaker accused of spying in the Southeast Asian nation

He faces five to 10 years behind bars if convicted.

Ricketson had a court appearance in Phnom Penh on Tuesday and arrived shackled and wearing orange prison overalls.

His case has been linked to the dissolution of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party amid a crackdown on dissent in Cambodia.

Ricketson has been denied bail and his family fear he is ill.

More than 68,800 people have signed a petition online urging Ms Bishop to intervene in the case.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ricketson’s family thanked Ms Bishop for her assistance.

He faces five to 10 years behind bars if convicted

His son Jesse Ricketson, who has moved to Cambodia with his partner to assist his father, said the family had been seeking high-level Australian government intervention since Ricketson was imprisoned eight months ago.

‘We’re very glad that she (Ms Bishop) has chosen to initiate this contact because it is this sort of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that’s going to make all the difference in a case like this, just as it did with Australian journalist Peter Greste, who was released from an Egyptian prison after 400 days following assistance from the Australian government.’

Jesse Rickeston expressed his gratitude to the foreign affairs minister and for the consular assistance the family had received on the ground in Cambodia.

‘We are not experienced politicians or diplomats, we’re just regular Australians, so it’s really important that we continue to get the Australian government to make representations on our behalf to help us get Dad out of jail. We need all the help we can get.’