Pat Raksmey, wife of imprisoned activist Thun Ratha, supports her husband outside the Phnom Penh Appeal Court on 17 February 2025.

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court denied bail to five imprisoned Mother Nature activists yesterday. The environmentalists – Long Kunthea, Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoraksmey, Thun Ratha and Yim Leanghy – were returned to separate prisons following the decision.

The five have been in prison since being convicted by the Phnom Penh Capital Court on 2 July 2024, when they were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to eight years on charges of plotting and/or insulting the King. The activists had sought bail while the conviction is under appeal.

In a separate case, two vice-presidents of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA) were interviewed by an investigating judge, as the Phnom Penh Capital Court considered extending their pre-trial detention. Ream Sreypich Rothana and Thy Thorn have been in prison on charges of plotting since August 2024 and were denied bail by the Supreme Court last month.

The two youth activists were arrested amidst a broader crackdown on over 100 people accused of expressing dissent or planning to assemble in response to the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA)—a regional cooperation agreement from which Cambodia has since withdrawn.

The Mother Nature and youth activists are among 59 Prisoners of Interest in Cambodia, whose speech or activism has been classified as criminal.

Update: on 19 February 2025, LICADHO was informed that yesterday the investigating judge of the Phnom Penh Capital Court extended the pre-trial detention period for Ream Sreypich Rothana and Thy Thorn by six months.