Images of process server Paul Hayes assaulted by Hun Manet's bodyguards when trying to deliver a supoena to Hun Manet in Long Beach

American serving a supoena assaulted by Hun Manet's bodyguards in Long Beach

Paul Hayes assaulted by Hun Manet's bodyguards in Long Beach

Paul Hayes at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Photo credits: Cambodia-America Alliance

Lawyer Says Hun Manet Subpoenaed in US

The Cambodia Daily

[excerpts]

Speaking by telephone from Los Angeles, where Mr. Sovannara’s family lives and where the case was filed in a U.S. federal court on Friday, attorney Morton Sklar said a process server named Paul Hayes delivered a subpoena to Lt. Gen. Manet on Saturday.

Lt. Gen. Manet is traveling in the U.S. to meet Cambodian communities there and was hosting a dinner at the La Lune restaurant in Long Beach on Saturday night when a man was allegedly assaulted by his bodyguards, requiring local police to intervene.

Mr. Sklar said the man was Mr. Hayes. Online videos show Long Beach police spraying tear gas at Lt. Gen. Manet’s bodyguards and protesters after Mr. Hayes was allegedly assaulted by the bodyguards while serving him with the subpoena.

“I went to see him today,” Mr. Sklar said, explaining that Mr. Hayes would press charges.

“He’s in the Intensive Care Unit, as very significant damage was done in the assault. He’s being carefully monitored because of damage that took place to his spine and head.”

“But I should point out that this occurred when he was just a few feet away from Hun Manet, and he told me this morning he had outstretched his left arm to serve Hun Manet with the papers for the court case.”

“He called out Hun Manet’s name, and then the bodyguard pulled him very violently to the ground. But the service-of-process in U.S. law, which requires you to be within 10 feet of the defendant, took place.”

Cambodian Political Repression Meets American Human Rights Law in Long Beach

Huffington Post 

[excerpts]

Saturday night outside the La Lune Restaurant in Long Beach, California,where Manet was having dinner, a process server arrived to serve papers on the case. The Long Beach Police Department was in the parking lot to monitor a small protest from the Cambodian community. The process server notified the police of what he was doing and was allowed to go forward.

Manet’s bodyguards were not pleased. There was a scuffle. The process server was slammed hard to the ground by one of the bodyguards, landing on his head and spine. This time the police did intervene, called an ambulance, and got the server to a hospital. He is now in ICU and is expected to be there for up to five days while doctors determine if he will need surgery for spinal injuries.

Manet Bodyguard Accused of Assault in US

The Cambodia Daily 

[excerpts]

One video, uploaded to the “Cambodian Global Society” page, shows men in suits tearing at the eyes, with the caption: “Polices used pepper [s]pray to clear out Hun Manet’s security guards after they pushed and hurts one white American tried to serve paper to Hun Manet.” 
...
“I was serving a subpoena, and I got thrown down by the security and I hit my head,” the man said. 

“When it first happened, when I lay down, I couldn’t move for 30 seconds. I couldn’t move my arms or my legs, I was paralyzed.”