LIBRARY

24 June 2024

The Phnom Penh Capital Court concluded the criminal trial against 10 Mother Nature Cambodia activists on Monday, over charges that stem from the movement’s peaceful environmental activism from 2012 to 2021.

The prosecution and defense completed their closing arguments on Monday afternoon, after which presiding judge Ouk Reth Kunthea set 2 July 2024 as the date for delivering a verdict. The court has held five hearings in the case, including today’s session, one of which was boycotted by five of the defendants for restricted access to the trial for their supporters and family.

All 10 activists are charged with Article 453 for plotting and face up to 10 years in prison, whereas three of the activists — Sun Ratha, Yim Leanghy and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson — face the additional charge of insulting the King under Article 437 bis of the Cambodian criminal code. The seven other defendants are Long Kunthea, Thun Ratha, Phuon Keoraksmey, Ly Chandaravuth, Pork Khoeuy, Binh Piseth and Rai Raksa.

24 June 2024

A wave of arrests this year has ensnared a number of activists who had previously been jailed in Cambodia’s notorious prisons, and re-engaged in their activism upon their release. This has led to a growing number of “repeat defenders” – human rights defenders and political activists who are currently serving a second or third prison sentence due to their peaceful activism.

20 June 2024

On 19 June 2024, the Tbong Khmum Appeal Court upheld the verdict of the Ratanakiri Provincial Court convicting well-known environmental activist Chhorn Phalla of defamation, insult and incitement to commit a felony under Articles 305, 502, and 495 of the Criminal Code.

The decision of the Appeal Court came after Phalla’s trial on 28 May 2024. He faces one year in prison and a 10 million riel (around US$2,500) fine, pending the exhaustion of the appeals process.

Phalla is an outspoken and long-time activist who has endured significant prosecution in the course of his work protecting natural resources and monitoring deforestation. Before his conviction the Ratanakiri Provincial Court earlier this year in this case, he had been imprisoned between September 2021 and October 2023 for convictions in two other cases – both brought against his for his activism – that were subsequently overturned.

20 June 2024

Koet Saray, President of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), was denied bail by the Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning and transferred back to Correctional Centre 1 (CC1) prison.

Over a dozen youth activists gathered outside of the court in support of Saray, who has been imprisoned since his arrest in April 2024 on charges of incitement in relation to ongoing land conflicts in Preah Vihear province.

Saray is also charged with “committing a misdemeanour after sentencing for a misdemeanour,” due to previously being convicted of incitement in 2021 over a peaceful gathering calling for the release of then-imprisoned union leader Rong Chhun. This additional charge potentially doubles the sentence of the new incitement charge, meaning he faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

20 June 2024

Union leader Chea Chan was convicted today and sentenced to one year in prison by the Kampong Speu Provincial Court over charges of​ being an accomplice to theft, which were filed shortly after Chan unanimously won a union vote at Wing Star Shoes factory. Six months of the one-year sentence were suspended.

Chan has been imprisoned since his arrest in February 2024, while the alleged theft had occurred years earlier. Around 40 workers and union members gathered inside and outside the court today to support Chan, a unionist with the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU). The union has called the charges judicial abuse to stifle freedom of association, and Chan reported receiving threats warning him against forming a union at the factory prior to the union vote.

Chan is one of at least three union leaders imprisoned 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 in May this year prior to an internal union vote.

19 June 2024

Around 60 community members who are locked in a land dispute linked to an Economic Land Concession (ELC) in Kratie province travelled to Phnom Penh to petition authorities to stop a local company from clearing their land and crops.

Earlier this morning, the families from Sambor district rode in tuk-tuks across the capital and delivered petitions to the Ministry of Interior, Prime Minister’s Cabinet office, and the Land Management Ministry. Authorities had prohibited them from marching on foot to the three destinations.

The people, representing 1,318 families from two villages in Kratie, said a local company Kasekam Youveakchun Svay Rieng Co. Ltd was clearing their land and crops, which is within a previously-dormant ELC granted in 2009 to a Singaporean company named Kamadhenu Ventures (Cambodia).

12 June 2024

We, a civil society group comprising unions, union federations, associations, and non-governmental organizations committed to promoting human and labor rights in Cambodia, deeply regret the illegal dismissal of Mrs. Roeurn Kolab by Shengbo Garment (Cambodia) Co., Ltd on June 30, 2023. It has been a year since she faced this injustice. The dismissal of Mrs. Kolab, a newly elected union leader, is a severe violation of the right to freedom of association and union organizing, fundamental to protecting workers’ rights in the workplace.

5 June 2024

Five Mother Nature Movement activists refused to enter the courtroom where they were being tried for plotting against the state this morning, after authorities arbitrarily shut the street and limited some media and supporters from monitoring the public hearing at the Phnom Penh Capital Court.

The five activists – Yim Leanghy, Thun Ratha, Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoraksmey and Long Kunthea – face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges, filed over their peaceful environmental activism. Their trial had its first hearing one week ago, when dozens of supporters and media gathered in front of the courtroom to witness them entering the court.

This morning, some NGOs and observers who had registered in advance were allowed to enter the courtroom, but barricades blocked access to the street in front of the court. Supporters accompanying the Mother Nature activists were prohibited from entering, leading the activists to sit and meditate in protest of the restrictions. The hearing proceeded without any of the charged activists present and consisted primarily of reading transcripts of their previous interviews.

1 June 2024

We stand strong with the thousands of children and minors across Cambodia who are locked up in overcrowded and under-resourced prisons. We call on the relevant authorities to stop the excessive detention of children and minors in prison, and to immediately and consistently use alternatives to detention before resorting to imprisonment.

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.