Koet Saray speaks to the media in 2023 at a commemoration for slain forest defender Chut Wutty.

Koet Saray, president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), was convicted of incitement this morning by the Phnom Penh Capital Court and sentenced to four years in prison for comments he made earlier this year about a violent eviction in Preah Vihear province.

Saray, who was forcibly defrocked by Cambodian authorities in 2021, was arrested outside the association’s office in April 2024 after he spoke to the media about a land conflict in Preah Vihear province during which authorities burned down people’s homes. He was charged with incitement to commit a felony under Article 494 and Article 495 of the Criminal Code. He was also charged for “committing a misdemeanour after sentencing for a misdemeanour” under Article 88 of the code, which allows for a doubling of a defendant’s prison sentence if they have been convicted of the same misdemeanour within five years. This article was applied to Saray’s four-year prison sentence, who will also pay an around US$500 fine.

The youth leader was commenting on a land dispute involving an Economic Land Concession (ELC) granted to Seladamex in Preah Vihear. Shortly before his arrest, Saray met with villagers who were involved in the dispute and urged officials to resolve the issue.

Saray was previously arrested in 2020 alongside eight other activists, all of whom were charged for incitement for peacefully protesting the arrest of former union leader Rong Chhun. In that case, Saray received a 14-month prison sentence, a $500 fine and was placed under a two-year probation period with restrictive conditions lasting until November 2023.