Preap In

Preap In (? - 1964) was a Cambodian political dissident of the 1950s - 1960s.

A high-level cadre of the Khmer Serei, a rightist militia formed to oppose the regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, In is remembered largely for an unsuccessful 1963 attempt to 'negotiate' directly with Sihanouk, resulting in his arrest and public execution by firing squad.

Biography

In was the nephew of In Tam, a provincial governor and prominent Cambodian politician of the post-independence years. Like Tam, he was a member of the Democratic Party, a liberal, centrist organisation that was absorbed into Sihanouk's Sangkum party in the later 1950s.

At some point In joined the Khmer Serei, an anti-communist and anti-monarchist guerrilla movement founded by the exiled politician Son Ngoc Thanh; the Khmer Serei operated largely in areas on the Thai and South Vietnamese borders, and were thought to be at least partly funded by the CIA. Sihanouk was later to describe In as "one of the right-hand men" of Son Ngoc Thanh.

Arrest

Preap In's uncle, In Tam, is thought to have offered assurances that In would be given safe-conduct to negotiate directly with Sihanouk in the National Assembly. Sihanouk was to describe In as mistakenly supposing he was to negotiate Sihanouk's "surrender", though this is likely to be an exaggeration

In Tam and an associate, Saing San (described as a chauffeur at the Royal Palace) were arrested in Takeo on 19 November 1963; they were bought to Phnom Penh and displayed in cages in public. Although San was soon to be released, In was bought before the National Assembly, where he readily 'confessed' that his organisation, the Khmer Serei, was funded by the CIA with the intention of overthrowing Sihanouk.

He was then handed over to a military tribunal, who sentenced him to death.

Execution

In was executed by firing squad at Trapeang Kraleung, Kampong Speu Province, in January 1964.

The execution was filmed, and the fifteen-minute newsreel was shown in cinemas across Cambodia for a month prior to the main feature; many Cambodians were deeply shocked by the film, which remained in their memories for many years. As a result, Preap In is still remembered in Cambodia as a figure of opposition to the Sangkum.