From left to right: Seun Sreymai, Thy Thorn, Ream Sreypich Rothana, Chheang Rithy, and Sak Kanika.

Five youth and student group members from the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA) and Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP) were denied bail by the Phnom Penh Appeal Court in a private hearing this afternoon.

The five include KSILA vice-presidents Ream Sreypich Rothana and Thy Thorn, both 23-years-old; KSILA member Seun Sreymai, 21; and YRDP staffers Sak Kanika, 33, and Chheang Rithy, 36. They are each charged with plotting under Article 453 of the Criminal Code, and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The five have been detained since August 2024 amidst a sweeping crackdown that saw more than one hundred people arrested, some of whom were expressing opinions or planning to assemble about the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA), a 20-year-old trade and cooperation agreement from which Cambodia has since withdrawn.

The president of KSILA, Koet Saray, is also in prison serving a 4-year sentence in a separate case, following his arrest on charges of incitement in April 2024 for speaking out about a land conflict.