PHNOM PENH - Patrick Devillers, the French architect who left for Beijing last week following his arrest in Cambodia last month, is in good health and is being watched over by his embassy there, a French official said Tuesday.
Devillers is wanted as a witness in the high-profile murder trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted communist politician Bo Xilai. He was arrested in Phnom Penh in June and held for a month before he left for China. Cambodian officials said he had made the decision voluntarily but never made clear why he was held.
A spokesman for the French Embassy in Beijing told VOA Khmer that Devillers had left voluntarily and arrived safely and that two counselors from the embassy had visited him. He had signed an agreement with the Chinese government to cooperate with its courts, the spokesman said, on condition his name not be used.
“The French government maintains contact with Patrick Devillers and also with the Chinese government,” the spokesman said. He declined to elaborate further on the details of Devillers case.
Devillers is wanted as a witness in the high-profile murder trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted communist politician Bo Xilai. He was arrested in Phnom Penh in June and held for a month before he left for China. Cambodian officials said he had made the decision voluntarily but never made clear why he was held.
A spokesman for the French Embassy in Beijing told VOA Khmer that Devillers had left voluntarily and arrived safely and that two counselors from the embassy had visited him. He had signed an agreement with the Chinese government to cooperate with its courts, the spokesman said, on condition his name not be used.
“The French government maintains contact with Patrick Devillers and also with the Chinese government,” the spokesman said. He declined to elaborate further on the details of Devillers case.
