LIBRARY

31 May 2024

Thousands of children and minors across Cambodia are locked up in overcrowded and under-resourced prisons this Children’s Day. The number of children and minors living in prison, rather than being at home with their families or studying at school, has continued to grow at a staggering rate over the last year. This is deplorable.

LICADHO calls on the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, courts, and law enforcement to stop the excessive detention of children and minors in prison, and to immediately and consistently use alternatives to detention before resorting to imprisonment. It is crucial that children are not placed in overcrowded cells, deprived of basic care, or cut off from their communities. This is not the first time LICADHO has issued this call, but the problem has only become more dire.

31 May 2024

The Supreme Court this morning upheld the conviction of the opposition Candlelight Party’s Vice President Thach Setha on the charge of irregular financial payments. Setha, 70, has been imprisoned since January 2023 and was returned to prison to finish his 18-month sentence following the verdict.

Setha is the highest-ranking of the at least 20 Candlelight Party members who are currently imprisoned in Cambodia. Setha’s case arose from a complaint that alleged that he had written five bad cheques in 2019 to repay an outstanding debt to the complainant, Rin Chhay Pawn Shop. The debt was the subject of a previous civil case in which the Appeal Court had ruled in Setha’s favour.

The Phnom Penh Capital Court convicted Setha on 21 September 2023 of irregular financial payments under Article 231 of the Law on Negotiable Instruments and Payment Transactions. This was upheld by the Phnom Penh Appeal Court, and today again upheld in full by the Supreme Court. Setha remains sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 3 million riel (around US$750), and must also pay Rin Chhay Pawn Shop the alleged outstanding debt of $33,400 (around 133.6 million riel) and 5 million riel (around $1,250) in compensation.

29 May 2024

The trial of 10 environmental activists from the Mother Nature Movement on charges of plotting and insulting the king began this morning at the Phnom Penh Capital Court. The activists face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The environmental activists include Yim Leanghy, Sun Ratha, and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who are charged with insulting the King and plotting under Articles 437-bis and 453 of the Criminal Code. The remaining seven are charged with plotting, and are Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea, Phuon Keoraksmey, Ly Chandaravuth, Binh Piseth, Rai Raksa, and Pork Khoeuy.

Present at the hearing today were Leanghy, Thun Ratha, Chandaravuth, Keoraksmey and Kunthea. All the activists were dressed in mourning outfits of all-white, and after the hearing gathered with supporters and spoke to media in front of the court.

29 May 2024

Around 30 workers gathered outside the Kampong Speu Provincial Court this morning to hold banners and call for the immediate release of Chea Chan, a union leader with the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) who has been imprisoned since February 2024.

Chan faces between 3 and 10 years in prison on charges of theft with aggravating circumstances, charges that the union has said are judicial abuse intended to stifle freedom of association. Chan served as the president of the union at Wing Star Shoes factory, and was unanimously voted to be the factory’s union president shortly before his arrest. He had reported receiving threats prior to the vote warning him against forming a union in the factory.

Chan is one of at least three imprisoned unionists in Cambodia. Chhim Sithar, president of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), has been imprisoned since November 2022. Morm Rithy, president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation, was jailed earlier this month prior to an internal union vote.

24 May 2024

The internal compliance unit of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has found a complaint filed by LICADHO eligible for an environmental and social compliance review. The complaint was filed by LICADHO on behalf of complainants who have suffered human rights harms from private-sector companies that are promoted under the UN agency’s investment project.

15 May 2024

The Battambang Provincial Court charged and sent a Khmer Will Party provincial council candidate to pretrial detention on Monday, less than two weeks prior to the 2024 provincial and district council elections. The same day, a jailed opposition party co-founder had his conviction upheld by the Supreme Court.

Phou Sovantha, a Khmer Will Party candidate for the upcoming Battambang provincial council election and a former Battambang party chief for the Candlelight Party, was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to the court. Sovantha was sent to pretrial detention the same day on charges of defamation and incitement following a complaint filed by a former colleague, who is now a member of the ruling party, about Sovantha’s posts on Facebook.

Additionally, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the conviction of Seam Pluk, the co-founder of the Cambodia National Heart Party, and three other defendants on charges of forgery and use of forged documents. The Phnom Penh Capital Court had sentenced Pluk to 30 months in prison and a fine of 5 million riel (around $1,250) over allegations that Pluk forged documents containing thumbprints of supporters during the party’s abortive registration attempt, which was rejected by the Interior Ministry in 2021.

10 May 2024

Police and district guards blocked a march of around 60 Samrong Tbong community members living next to Boeng Tamok lake in northern Phnom Penh. This morning, authorities were violent and shoved community members who were walking to the Prek Pnov district hall to meet officials after six families received eviction orders signed on 8 May to make way for road construction.

Around 60 police and district security guards cordoned off community members, pushed them back, were violent with some of the members and prevented the group from walking to the district hall. Residents were forced to return to their homes escorted by security forces.

Samrong Tbong community members have faced repeated police harassment, criminal charges and threats of eviction as the government has parcelled off and filled in large swathes of Boeng Tamok lake, giving plots of land to various government ministries, officials and well-connected individuals.

9 May 2024

The president of the Nation Power Party was arrested at the Phnom Penh International Airport this morning on an order to appear for questioning at the Internal Security department as he was returning from a trip meeting supporters in Japan.

Sun Chanthy was arrested by police this morning at 9 a.m., according to a police statement, which adds that Chanthy was being questioned on the charge of “incitement to disturb social security,” which falls under Article 495 of the Criminal Code.

A separate document from the Phnom Penh prosecutor’s office dated 7 May instructs police to arrest Chanthy and produce him at Phnom Penh police’s Internal Security department. The document was signed by prosecutor Chreung Kmao on the same day the Nation Power Party (NPP) posted a video on its Facebook page of Chanthy addressing party supporters in Japan.

8 May 2024

Morm Rithy, the vice-president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), was arrested last night outside of the confederation’s offices, after he was convicted in absentia of incitement and discrediting judicial decisions and sentenced to 18 months in prison early Tuesday.

In addition to serving as the vice-president of CLC, Rithy, 35, is the head of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation. His conviction relates to a 24 February 2022 Facebook video in which the union leader was critical of an arrest of a member of his federation at Jinbei Casino in Sihanoukville.

The verdict was announced without Rithy or his lawyer present, as his lawyer had requested a delay in the trial due to a scheduling conflict. The court found Rithy guilty of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, as well as “Discrediting a Judicial Decision” under Article 523, and fined him two million riel (US$500).

7 May 2024

The Cambodian government must urgently act to address predatory lending and abusive collection practices in the country’s microfinance sector, local and international CSOs urge in a submission ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review (UPR) of Cambodia.

The call to address long-standing and widely reported abuses in Cambodia’s microfinance sector comes as 30 recommendations made in the 2019 UPR cycle to improve the human rights situation have gone unheeded due to a lack of meaningful government oversight. This has enabled Cambodia’s microloan sector to balloon in recent years, with average loan sizes rising to over $5,000—the highest in the world—and coerced debt-driven land sales happening in significant numbers across the country.

6 May 2024

We, the undersigned civil society groups, unions and confederations, are dismayed by the Supreme Court’s unjust decision last week to uphold convictions against current and former members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). Authorities and courts have repeatedly failed to provide justice to LRSU activists. They must release union president Chhim Sithar from prison immediately and restore the freedoms of all defendants in this case.

On the morning of 3 May, the Supreme Court upheld convictions against eight current and former LRSU members, who were previously sentenced by the Phnom Penh Capital Court to prison sentences ranging from one to two years. Of the eight defendants, LRSU President Chhim Sithar is in prison serving a two-year sentence, and five other defendants are at risk of being immediately imprisoned. The five defendants — Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Sun Srey Pich and Touch Sereymeas — were sentenced by the Phnom Penh Capital Court to 18 months in prison.

6 May 2024

As Cambodia’s human rights record is reviewed at the Human Rights Council on 8 May 2024, we urge UN Member States to recommend granting debt relief and implementing free education and healthcare services, in order to reduce debts and put an urgent stop to abuses linked to microfinance loans.

LICADHO, Equitable Cambodia, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, and FIAN Germany are releasing a series of infographics today in four languages to highlight the debilitating indebtedness faced by many Cambodians and the predatory tactics used by microfinance institutions and microloan providers to target vulnerable, poor and Indigenous communities.

UN Member States must hold Cambodia accountable during the Universal Periodic Review and make recommendations to immediately end human rights abuses in the country’s microfinance sector.

LICADHO, Equitable Cambodia, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, and FIAN Germany submitted a report to the Human Rights Council on these concerns. The submission can be accessed here.

3 May 2024

The Supreme Court this morning upheld the convictions of current and former casino union members, prolonging the incarceration of LRSU President Chhim Sithar.

The four-judge panel delivered its verdict the morning of 3 May upholding convictions for eight defendants. Their sentences range from two years to one year in prison, with Sithar being the only defendant currently serving her two-year sentence.

While Sithar is expected to be released later this year once she completes her sentence, today’s verdict puts five of the defendants at risk of immediate imprisonment. The five defendants — Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Sun Srey Pich, and Touch Sereymeas — were given 18-month prison sentences by the Phnom Penh Capital Court.

1 May 2024

Federations, unions, workers and civil society groups across Phnom Penh celebrated International Labour Day on Wednesday.

Events were held outside the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, near Wat Phnom and the National Assembly in Phnom Penh.

Union leaders and workers spoke about the progress they have made in the labour movement but warned against the criminalisation of unions, persecution of labour activists, and the recent regression in the workers' rights, their right to advocate for their peers and fair wages and work conditions.

1 May 2024

We stand strong with workers in Cambodia and across the world, and join them in the fight for better working conditions, fair contracts and wages, and respect and dignity for all kinds of labour.

To mark International Labour Day 2024, LICADHO, partner civil society groups and unions are releasing a video to highlight the achievement and challenges faced by the workers’ rights movement in Cambodia, and to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of labour activists and unionists, such as Chea Vichea.

We stand together with Cambodian unions in the ongoing fight for justice and labour rights.

26 April 2024

Youths from the Mother Nature Movement and other activists today led a commemorative walk in honour of murdered environmental activist Chut Wutty. Wutty was shot dead on 26 April 2012 whilst patrolling a protected forest area with two journalists in Koh Kong province. A military police officer, In Rattana, was also fatally shot on the same day and blamed for Wutty’s killing following a flawed investigation.

Around 20 youth activists from Mother Nature and six monks gathered in front of Phnom Penh’s Night Market this morning to begin the march. Participants painted messages on their faces and wore white headbands, conducted chants, held a short performance, and carried banners calling for justice for the murder. The march concluded at Hotel Cambodiana, where participants submitted a petition calling for an independent investigation into the killing to authorities from the Ministry of Justice.

8 April 2024

We, the youth, local communities, unions, associations, and local civil society organisations mentioned below are deeply disappointed by the arrest of Mr. Koet Saray, the President of the Khmer Student Intelligence League Association (KSILA).

Note that Mr. Koet Saray was arrested by plainclothes police officers in Phnom Penh and sent to the Phnom Penh Capital Court at 3:45pm on April 5, 2024, while he was working at the office. Mr. Koet Saray, the President of the Khmer Student Intelligence League Association (KSILA), was arrested and sent to Phnom Penh Capital Court without clarification of the exact charge or notice to his family. The arrest was made on the order of Mr. Seang Heang, Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Capital Court, on April 5, 2024 under the charge of incitement to commit a felony or to disturb social security. According to a press release issued by the Phnom Penh Capital Court Prosecutor's Office, he faces an additional charge of committing a misdemeanor after sentencing for a misdemeanor, and was sent to pre-trial detention at Prey Sar Prison during the afternoon of April 7, 2024.

7 April 2024

Koet Saray, President of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), was today sent to pre-trial detention at Correctional Centre 1 prison by an investigating judge at the at Phnom Penh Capital Court following charges of “committing a misdemeanour after sentencing for a misdemeanour” and “incitement to commit a felony” under Articles 88, 494, and 495 of the Criminal Code. The charges relate to ongoing land conflicts in Preah Vihear province.

On 6 April at around 3:30pm, police officers confirmed that Saray had been transported to the Phnom Penh Capital Court from the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat, where he had been held overnight following his arrest on 5 April at around 4:00pm by approximately 10 mixed uniformed and plainclothes police officers outside of KSILA’s office in Phnom Penh. Saray’s arrest followed an order issued by the Office of the Prosecutor at Phnom Penh Capital Court on 5 April to bring Saray to Phnom Penh Capital Police for questioning on “incitement to cause serious chaos to social security”.

One monk and around a dozen individuals from various youth groups and civil society organisations had been present at the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat on 6 April to monitor the situation. A few plainclothes police officers had also been deployed nearby, where they took photographs and videos and prevented human rights defenders from bringing food to Saray.

19 March 2024

On 13-15 March 2024, representatives of social impact investor Oikocredit, Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A. and of three human rights NGOs, Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Equitable Cambodia and FIAN Germany, came together for a dialogue. This was part of the process related to the submission made by the three NGOs to the Dutch OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct concerning the alleged negative impacts of some microfinance loans on Cambodian borrowers.

During the dialogue, there was strong common ground between the parties in their commitment to improve the livelihoods of Cambodian borrowers. There was also a joint recognition of the urgent issues in the Cambodian microfinance sector and the need to take action to address them. The parties have identified and committed to concrete next steps towards a positive outcome of the dialogue.

The Dutch NCP has commended both parties on their good faith engagement in the ongoing NCP process.

12 March 2024

Twenty-nine people were charged by the Preah Vihear Provincial Court on 8 March 2024 with “clearing forestland and enclosing it to claim for ownership” under Article 97(6) of the Law on Forestry. Four of the 29 people charged were released on bail, and the remaining 25 have been sent to pre-trial detention in Preah Vihear provincial prison. They include 13 men and 12 women.

The group was arrested earlier this month after mixed armed forces accompanied by forestry administration officials entered a disputed area with tractors intended to clear the land. Authorities fired live ammunition, used a smoke grenade, and arrested villagers.

The charges are the latest development in a longstanding land dispute involving Seladamex Co., Ltd., which affects families from Mrech, Srayang Tboung, and Kdak villages as well as families who have more recently migrated to the area. Seladamex was granted an Economic Land Concession in 2011 in Srayang and Phnum Tbaeng Pir communes in Kuleaen district.