LIBRARY

9 December 2017

On the eve of International Human Rights Day (IHRD) we, the undersigned members of Cambodian civil society, call for an end to government attacks on human rights defenders and civil society groups and the lifting of unjustifiable restrictions on fundamental freedoms.

Respect for fundamental freedoms is a basic requirement for a functioning civil society. It is also guaranteed by the Cambodian constitution and international law.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have been longstanding contributors to Cambodia’s post-war peace-building efforts, development and the promotion of human rights and democratic principles. The legitimate work of CSOs must be valued and protected as a fundamental pillar of sustainable development, rather than being wrongly characterised as a threat to national security.

Despite this, the space for civil society has been dramatically diminished in recent months.

8 December 2017

This morning the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of three Boeung Kak Lake activists – Tep Vanny, Kong Chantha and Bou Chhorvy – on charges of “insult [of a public official]” and “obstruction of a public official with aggravating circumstances”. Their six month sentences were also upheld.

No enforcement order was issued. This means their arrest and enforcement of the sentences can be ordered at any time at the discretion of the Phnom Penh municipal prosecutor.

Tep Vanny was immediately returned to Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) where she has been in detention since 15 August 2016. She is awaiting an appeal against a conviction and 30 month sentence in another protest-related case. Kong Chantha and Bou Chhorvy were not immediately detained.

2 December 2017

LICADHO’s report No Punishment, No Protection: Cambodia’s Response to Domestic Violence presents evidence of the failure of the Cambodian justice system to properly protect victims of domestic violence or to punish the perpetrators. It is based on a review of 237 closed domestic violence cases, investigated by LICADHO between the beginning of 2014 and the end of 2016.

2 December 2017

To mark the global campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, running from November 25 to December 10, LICADHO is publishing a new report No Punishment, No Protection: Cambodia’s Response to Domestic Violence. It presents evidence of the failure of the Cambodian justice system to properly protect victims of domestic violence or to punish the perpetrators.

24 November 2017

This morning the Supreme Court considered the conviction of four Boeung Kak Lake activists – Tep Vanny, Kong Chantha, Bov Chhorvy and Heng Mom – on charges of "insult [of a public official]" and "obstruction of a public official with aggravating circumstances".

If the verdict is upheld, they face six-month prison sentences – under Articles 502 and 504 of the Criminal Code – related to a 2011 land rights protests outside Phnom Penh city hall. Tep Vanny has been in detention since 15 August 2016 and is appealing another protest-related conviction.

Lawyers and witnesses for the plaintiff did not appear in court which meant cross-examination was not possible.

18 November 2017

Two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists were charged at Phnom Penh Municipal Court this afternoon on suspicion of treason and sent to pre-trial detention at Correctional Centre 1 (CC1). Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin have been detained by police since Tuesday night, accused of sending news reports to US-based media.

Both men worked for RFA until the media outlet shut its Phnom Penh Bureau on 12 September 2017, citing government repression and the forced closure of its FM radio broadcasts.

Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin were charged under Article 445 of the Criminal Code which covers providing information to foreign states or agents which can “undermine national defence”. The charge carries a prison sentence of between 7 and 15 years.

14 November 2017

We, the undersigned Cambodian and international civil society organisations (CSOs), call for the immediate release of Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy, environmental activists affiliated with the recently deregistered NGO, Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC), who have been wrongfully detained for over two months on spurious charges. We are deeply concerned by the arbitrary nature of their arrest and pre-trial detention, which appears to be an attempt to stifle and punish their legitimate work as environmental human rights defenders.

13 September 2017

Two activists from the Mother Nature environmental group, arrested while filming suspected sand smuggling activities in Koh Kong province, have been charged on suspicion of violating privacy and incitement to commit a felony. Dem Kundy and Hun Vannak were arrested in Kiri Sakor district Tuesday – just two days after Mother Nature posted an online video highlighting potential smuggling of silica sand to Taiwan.

The video has been viewed more than 950,000 times on Facebook. The group has repeatedly sought to expose discrepancies in trade figures indicating large scale sand smuggling to several countries including India and Singapore.

If convicted of the two charges, the activists face up to two years in prison and maximum fines of six million riel (US$1,500) under article 495 (incitement to commit a felony) and article 302 of the Criminal Code (unauthorized recording of a person’s image).

9 September 2017

Radio is a major source of public information for people living in rural parts of Cambodia where Internet access is less common.

In late August 2017, Cambodian authorities ordered the closure of 32 FM radio frequencies across 20 provinces.

The shutdown particularly hit stations relaying independent Khmer-language news: Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America (VOA) and the Cambodian non-profit, Voice of Democracy (VOD) were all taken off the air.

22 August 2017

This morning more than 100 farmers from Chi Kha Kraom community in Koh Kong protested outside the Ministry of Land Management, demanding that the government resolve a land conflict affecting at least 15 families. Police and para police pushed the protesters from the roadside, hurting two female members of the community and smashing the group’s megaphone.

In 2010, the affected community lost their farmland to an Economic Land Concession (ELC) held by the Heng Huy Agriculture Group which cleared it for sugar production. The community has struggled to find a solution for seven years, repeatedly presenting their case at the local and national level. More than 120 members of the community travelled to Phnom Penh on 2 February 2017 and spent several months petitioning authorities.

Returning five days ago, the community met with a representative of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet who pledged to find a solution. After several hours protesting outside the land ministry today, a spokesman informed the group that their case was still being examined.

15 August 2017

Supporters of land activist and human rights defender, Tep Vanny, have marked the one year anniversary of her unjust detention by calling for international help to secure her release.

A group from Boeung Kak Lake community delivered petitions to embassies and international organisations, starting Monday at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and at six embassies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They continued Tuesday at nine others, including the US, Japan, Germany and the European Union.

Tep Vanny was arrested a year ago and charged during a peaceful protest supporting five jailed human rights defenders who are now released on bail. She was subsequently convicted of “insulting a public official” and sentenced to six days in prison. While she was imprisoned, three long dormant cases related to other peaceful protests were re-opened in politically-motivated trials which fell far short of acceptable legal standards. She is currently serving a 30 month sentence. A further six month sentence is awaiting a final appeal decision and she is on trial on a third re-activated charge.

15 August 2017

Tep Vanny, one of Cambodia’s most prominent land activists and human rights defenders, will have spent one year in prison on 15 August for defending her community and exercising her human rights. We, the undersigned, condemn her arbitrary imprisonment. We call for her convictions to be overturned, for all ongoing politically motivated and unsubstantiated charges against her to be dropped, and for her immediate release from prison.

8 August 2017

This morning the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence of land rights activist Tep Vanny on a years-old charge which was reactivated following her participation in the peaceful "Black Monday" campaign last year. Today’s verdict follows an appeal hearing on 27 July in which no plaintiffs were present, preventing cross-examination and – as in the first instance trial in February – no credible evidence was presented by the prosecution.

The appeal attempted to overturn her conviction by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 23 February 2017 for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” in a trial which fell far short of acceptable legal standards. The case itself relates to a 2013 protest in Phnom Penh – over the jailing of another activist – where para-police brutally beat and injured Vanny and other protesters.

27 July 2017

The conviction of land rights activist Tep Vanny over her participation in a peaceful protest was considered by the Court of Appeal today as supporters protested outside almost a year after she was first detained. No plaintiffs or prosecution witnesses were present at the hearing, preventing cross-examination and – as in the first instance trial in February – no credible evidence was presented.

At a 2013 protest in Phnom Penh – over the jailing of another activist – para-police brutally beat and injured Vanny and other protestors. Nonetheless, she was convicted on 23 February 2017 for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” in a trial which fell far short of acceptable legal standards, including a lack of cross-examination of the plaintiffs (security guards known as para-police).

The appeal seeks to overturn a two years and six months’ sentence as well as fines and compensation to the plaintiffs amounting to 14 million riel ($3,500). Since her arrest on 15 August 2016, Tep Vanny has spent 346 days in detention. A verdict will be announced on 8 August 2017.

27 July 2017

We, the undersigned, call on the Court of Appeal to overturn the unjust conviction of Ms. Tep Vanny on charges of intentional violence with aggravating circumstances based on her peaceful activism at a 2013 protest, for which she received a draconian sentence of two years and six months’ imprisonment on 23 February 2017. The Court of Appeal will hear Ms. Tep Vanny's appeal against conviction tomorrow. On 15 August 2017, Ms. Tep Vanny will have spent one year in detention; her imprisonment is a clear attempt to silence one of Cambodia’s most fearless and outspoken defenders of human rights ahead of the national elections in July 2018.

11 July 2017

This photo album covers the events that took place in Cambodia on 9 and 10 July 2017 to commemorate the killing of political analyst Kem Ley. Cambodians abroad also paid their respects to Kem Ley, with tributes taking place in Australia and Thailand. On 10 July 2016, Kem Ley was shot twice, in his chest and his head, at the Caltex petrol station in central Phnom Penh. The gunman Oeuth Ang was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2017, however justice has yet to be served due to numerous concerns about the adequacy of the criminal process in both the investigation and the trial.

10 July 2017

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the killing of Kem Ley, we, the undersigned, reiterate our concerns regarding the apparent lack of progress in investigating this case, as well as the inadequate investigation and trial of Oeuth Ang, the only person yet convicted or charged in relation to Kem Ley’s death. In light of the inadequacy of the investigation, we urge the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) to establish an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry, in line with international standards, to continue the investigation.

8 July 2017

One year after the murder of Kem Ley, we, the undersigned civil society groups, believe that justice has not yet been served for the late political analyst and the family, friends and colleagues he left behind.

The well-known political analyst and anti-corruption campaigner was shot dead at point blank range on 10 July 2016 while drinking coffee in a Phnom Penh petrol station. There has been no transparency in the murder investigation, and there are still many unanswered questions in the case.

3 July 2017

As Cambodia’s human rights situation continues to backslide, exposing and speaking out against state-perpetrated abuses is ever more crucial. In the last two years, however, human rights defenders and other critical or independent voices have been among the main victims of Cambodia’s fractious political situation.

In this latest in a series of briefing papers, LICADHO sets out threats facing those who stand up for human rights in today’s Cambodia. Long-standing tactics used to silence human rights defenders – judicial harassment by a politicized court system; state-sponsored violence; and intolerance of peaceful protest – have been reinforced by new incapacitating laws and targeted digital surveillance. Although the examples presented in this paper are by no means exhaustive, taken together they provide a snapshot into the kinds of abuses that human rights defenders have been routinely subjected to in Cambodia over the last two years.

28 June 2017

We, the undersigned, condemn the discriminatory and arbitrary denial of medical care to three of the five ‘#Freethe5KH’ detainees at Phnom Penh’s CC1 (Prey Sar) prison facility. Mr. Ny Sokha, Mr. Nay Vanda, and Mr. Yi Soksan have finally been granted access to doctors from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), after such access had been arbitrarily restricted since April 2017. All three detainees experienced a serious deterioration in their health while the restrictions were in place. They have now been held in pre-trial detention for 426 days, along with their colleague at the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Ms. Lim Mony, and Deputy Secretary General of the National Election Committee and former ADHOC staff member, Mr. Ny Chakrya.