LIBRARY

17 July 2014

Deputy Leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has today received a summons for questioning at 8am on July 25. This follows the arrest on July 15 and 16 of five CNRP MPs elect and one grassroots activist. All six were arrested in connection with the violence of July 15 in Freedom Park and charged under Cambodia’s Criminal Code articles 28 and 218 (instigating aggravated intentional violence), 495 (inciting others to commit a felony) and 459 (leading an insurrectional movement). The latter charge carries a sentence of up to 30 years’ imprisonment. All six are currently held in pre-trial detention at CC1 and CC2 prisons.

It appears that Kem Sokha is also wanted for questioning in connection with the July 15 violence. The summons states that he will be questioned in order to clarify his responsibilities as a CNRP leader.

Two additional CNRP MPs elect, Long Ry and Nuth Romdoul, and one other CNRP activist Khin Chamreun have been named in court documents as having been formally accused by the case prosecutor.

16 July 2014

After violent clashes between security guards and Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) supporters at Freedom Park yesterday, 5 CNRP lawmakers-elect have been brought to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for questioning. The court is heavily barricaded but CNRP supporters are gathering at the barricades. The CNRP are also holding a press conference this morning in response to yesterday’s events. Follow events as they unfold.

2 May 2014

Today, thousands of Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) supporters marched across Phnom Penh to mark the start of the campaign for municipal, provincial, city and district council elections. At least five people were injured by security guards, including CNRP supporters, one monk and one journalist, as they waited for the march to arrive at Freedom Park. The journalist was taken to a hospital while LICADHO doctors treated the other injured civilians, including one man who required three stiches.

The march began at the CNRP headquarters mid-afternoon and proceeded along major boulevards across Phnom Penh for about three hours, before arriving in front of the Royal Palace where CNRP leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha addressed supporters. Before leaving the site, they announced that the rally would continue tomorrow.

Phnom Penh has seen a massive security build-up since April 30, when security forces barricaded Freedom Park. Today, the barricade extended to cover Norodom's dragon bridge and Wat Phnom, where hundreds of police armed with tear gas launchers and security guards were stationed. Military police were also positioned next to the Prime Minister’s house and at the Supreme Court nearby the palace.

30 April 2014

This morning, razor wire, caged trucks and fences were set up to prevent people from accessing Freedom Park for tomorrow’s International Workers’ Day events and during the election campaign which starts on 2nd May. Also this morning, Mu Sochua, CNRP law-maker elect, together with 150 supporters and representatives from land communities tried yet again to enter the park. Sam Rainsy, CNRP leader, made a quick visit to Freedom Park before going to Wat Phnom, and then returning to the barricaded park to give a short speech. Between 400-500 police were stationed at Freedom Park to prevent people from entering.

Sochua’s scheduled attempt to enter Freedom Park was publicly announced on Monday. When Sochua and her supporters were blocked from entering the park, they placed lotus flowers on the razor wire and burned incense.

30 March 2014

Today, around 2000 Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) supporters marched from Wat Botum to the CNRP headquarters passing the Russian Embassy, the Ministry of Information, the Cambodian People’s Party headquarters and National Election Committee office. The march was unplanned and was prompted by the authorities' denial of permission to hold a "People's Congress" in Freedom Park. Since this morning, several roadblocks, checkpoints and a heavy police presence have prevented people from gathering in Freedom Park.

CNRP will hold the congress to discuss the ongoing political deadlock over the results of last year's election. The congress follows this morning's memorial ceremony which took place at Wat Botum.

30 March 2014

This morning, more than 1500 people, including Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) supporters, Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy, and some monks, gathered in front of Wat Botum to hold a memorial ceremony for the injured and killed in March 1997 grenade attack. The gathering was the first organized event by CNRP in Phnom Penh since state security forces’ lethal clampdown on freedom of assembly in early January, and the largest public gathering since the Cambodian government put a ban on assembly in January.

Participants encountered several roadblocks, checkpoints and a heavy police presence around Wat Botum and Freedom Park, and many were prevented from attending the ceremony.

This morning’s ceremony will be followed by a ‘People’s Congress’ at CNRP headquarters this afternoon. The congress will discuss the ongoing political deadlock.

24 March 2014

2013 was dominated by one event: the National Assembly elections. Throughout the year, Phnom Penh saw some of its largest demonstrations in decades as Cambodian people took to the streets to demand their rights.

However, as documented by LICADHO in the report ‘Human Rights 2013: The Year in Review’, the elections witnessed an unprecedented level of fraud and left the country in a state of political turmoil; conflict over land and natural resources continued to be a major source of human rights violations throughout the year; strikes and labor issues gave rise to discord, often attracting violent action from the authorities; and human rights defenders remained a target of harassment, threats, unjustified criminal charges and violence.

18 March 2014

2013 was dominated by one event: the National Assembly elections.

Throughout the year, to shouts of “Change! Change!”, Phnom Penh saw some of its largest demonstrations in decades. Nine days before the elections, which fell on July 28, opposition leader Sam Rainsy returned from France to a crowd of more than 100,000 people and there was a mood of excitement and anticipation as voting day approached.

28 February 2014

This morning, three among the six men arrested at Kbal Thnal during deadly clashes on September 15, 2013, were found guilty of intentional violence and intentional destruction of property. The other three were cleared of the charges. All six men were tried at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on February 17, 2014.

Nguyen Thydoc, who has been held in CC1 since his arrest, was was sentenced to three years in prison with two years suspended. Van Neun and Lach Sameun, who were released on bail on October 22, 2013, were also sentenced to three years with all their remaining sentences suspended. All three men plan to appeal the verdict.

Meanwhile, no one from the armed forces has been prosecuted for ordering the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians which resulted in the death of a bystander on September 15.

21 February 2014

The verdict of the Kbal Thnal case, in which six men were arrested following clashes on September 15, 2013, has been delayed to February 28.

The men were arrested when roadblocks led to a clash between armed forces and people trying to return home near Kbal Thnal sky bridge. They were tried at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on February 17. Of the group of six men, four were released on bail on 22 October, one on 22 November and one remains in CC1 prison. All six are accused of intentional violence and intentional damage to property, which carry a combined possible sentence of four to ten years and in prison and fine of 8 million to 20 million Riels. During their trial, none of the men were identified by witnesses and all the police officers who testified denied that their unit had conducted the arrests. According to the presiding judge, the verdict has been delayed due to the complexity of the case.

12 February 2014

This audio book compiles key observations from 173 staff and partners who visited over 100 polling stations. There are 19,009 polling stations in Cambodia. As such, this is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of election day irregularities, but instead offers a snapshot revealing the need for further investigation.

The findings and recommendations were first published in August 2013 in a written briefing paper.

9 February 2014

LICADHO has compiled a timeline summarizing the series of event leading to and following the January 2-3-4, 2014, lethal clampdown on labour and political demonstrations in Cambodia's capital.

26 January 2014

Today, a CNRP forum has been disrupted in Kampong Cham following hours of intimidation.

Yesterday afternoon, dozens of trucks carrying military police and soldiers drove around Kampong Cham town into the evening, focusing on the CNRP headquarter offices. CNRP leader Kem Sokha arrived late in the evening following a forum in Prey Veng. This morning, entrances to Kampong Cham town were blocked to prevent CNRP activists from attending the forum. Kem Sokha was prevented from leaving his hotel, Leap Vireaksa, by over one hundred civilians wearing CPP logos and carrying CPP flags tied to large wooden batons who surrounded the building. At the same time, another group of civilians similarly dressed surrounded the CNRP office in Kampong Cham where Kem Sokha was due to speak. At around 8.30am, the group outside the hotel joined those outside the office, creating a crowd of over 2,000 people waving flags tied to large wooden batons and shouting anti-CNRP and anti-Kem Sokha slogans with loudspeakers. Inside the office, other CNRP MPs are speaking to about 1,000 CNRP supporters who had managed to pass the blocks into the town.

10 January 2014

On Thursday, January 2, 2014, Special Command Unit 911 violently cracked down on demonstrating garment factory workers near South Korean/U.S.-owned Yak Jin factory in the Pursenchey district of Phnom Penh, using knives, pipes, slingshots, batons and high-powered rifles, including AK-47 machine guns, to intimidate and injure civilians. The next day, state authorities used live ammunition to clear out the Canadia Industrial Area on Veng Sreng Road of civilians, resulting at least four civilian deaths and 38 hospitalized, 25 of whom suffered from bullet wounds. On Saturday, January 4, authorities then drove out CNRP supporters, including monks, women, and children, from Freedom Park with batons and metal rods. Amidst the chaos, state forces prevented media and rights workers from entering the park.

7 January 2014

Year 2014 has opened to a sustained campaign of violence and arrests in Cambodia. This video looks back at events which occurred on January 2,3, and 4, 2014.

4 January 2014

This morning state forces put a violent end to CNRP supporters’ long-standing occupation of Freedom Park, also known as Democracy Plaza, an area in central Phnom Penh specifically designated for protest.

This action follows two days of violence, which included the shooting yesterday at the Canadia industrial zone which left at least four civilians dead and dozens wounded.

3 January 2014

LICADHO has confirmed that at least four civilians were shot dead and 21 injured in the worst state violence against civilians to hit Cambodia in fifteen years.

Amid risks of growing civil unrest in Phnom Penh in the aftermath of the shootings, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC) call on security forces and protestors to exercise urgent restraint on both sides to avoid any further bloodshed.

17 December 2013

On July 28, 2013, Cambodia held its fifth National Assembly elections since the country’s elections organized by the United Nations Transitional Authority for Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1993. Serious flaws have undermined the confidence of many Cambodians in the integrity of the elections and their results.

This joint-report aims to provide a comprehensive view of the problems that have been described in several reports and research conducted on the recent elections.

1 November 2013

For three days from October 23-25, 2013, over 25,000 people peacefully gathered from across Cambodia in the capital city to rally for political change. The National Rescue Party (CNRP) leaders collected over 2.3 million thumbprints calling for an independent investigation into July’s election irregularities and for election reform. Marking the 22nd anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, CNRP leaders and supporters successfully delivered this petition to eight embassies and the UN, requesting signatories to uphold their promise to help ensure democracy and respect for human rights in Cambodia.

25 September 2013

Gravely concerned at the Cambodian authorities’ repeated use of excessive force to prevent and suppress the people’s exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, the undersigned non-governmental organizations call on the Cambodian and foreign governments to take immediate action to prevent the human rights situation from deteriorating further.