LIBRARY

18 August 2021

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning sentenced Rong Chhun to 24 months in prison and activists Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol to 20 months in prison on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the criminal code. The activists were each ordered to pay 2 million riel ($500) in fines, as well as jointly pay 400 million riel ($100,000) in damages.

Chhun, a longtime unionist and labour rights activist, was arrested in July 2020 over comments he made regarding the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Kanika was arrested the following month during a peaceful protest calling for Chhun’s release. Nimol, a former commune election candidate for the CNRP, was arrested in October that year during a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy. All three have been imprisoned in pre-trial detention since their arrest.

Nineteen activists, artists and human rights defenders were arrested in the month and a half following Chhun’s arrest, with many also facing charges of incitement, which carries up to two years in prison. At least 24 human rights defenders are currently in prison for exercising their rights.

21 July 2021

Three jailed Mother Nature environmental activists who were arrested in September 2020 and convicted in May 2021 on charges of incitement have now been charged with plotting by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in relation to a case involving four fellow activists from June 2021.

Thun Ratha, Phuon Keoraksmey and Long Kunthea were convicted on an incitement charge and sentenced to between 18 and 20 months and are currently in prison. They were questioned by an investigating judge this week in relation to plotting charges and face up to ten years in prison if convicted. The lawyers who previously represented them were not made aware of their transfer from prison for questioning and were not present during the interviews.

Plotting charges were filed in June 2021 against four Mother Nature activists – Sun Ratha, Ly Chandaravuth, Yim Leanghy and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson - as well as the additional charge of insulting the king. Spanish national Gonzalez-Davidson was charged in absentia, while the three activists were arrested and are currently in pre-trial detention. The activists face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

5 May 2021

Three imprisoned youth environmental activists were sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning to between 18 and 20 months in prison for organising a peaceful one-woman march that intended to highlight authorities’ ongoing filling-in of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tamok lake and other activism to protect Cambodia’s natural resources.

Activists Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey, two women who were 22 and 19 years old when they were arrested in September 2020, were sentenced to 18 months in prison for “incitement to commit a felony or disturb social order” under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code and fined 4 million riel each (about $1,000). The third activist, Thun Ratha, 29, was sentenced to 20 months under the same charges, and he was also fined 4 million riel.

Two additional activists were also sentenced in absentia under the same charges, with warrants issued for their arrest. Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish national and founder of Mother Nature environmental movement, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, while environmental activist Chea Kunthin was sentenced to 18 months. Both were also fined 4 million riel each.

22 January 2021

More than 70 workers and union leaders gathered outside Phnom Penh’s Wat Langka this morning to demand justice for murdered unionist Chea Vichea, who was gunned down in the street 17 years ago today. The peaceful Buddhist ceremony was shadowed by more than 60 uniformed and plain-clothes police and security forces.

Speaking at the ceremony, Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association president Vorn Pao called for further investigation into the union leader’s murder, as well as demanding justice for those still facing harassment or imprisoned unjustly. Although two innocent men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeurn, were falsely convicted and imprisoned for five years before their sentences were overturned, Vichea’s real killers have never been brought to justice.

Almost two decades after Vichea, the leader of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was killed, Cambodia’s pro-worker union leaders continue to face threats to their lives. In February last year, a deputy union leader at a Phnom Penh garment factory was left seriously injured after three masked men on a motorbike beat him on the head with a steel pipe outside his workplace. As in the case of Vichea’s murder, the perpetrators were never arrested.

15 January 2021

Two men have been sent to prison after being arrested by police yesterday morning while peacefully gathering outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court during the ongoing mass trials of more than a hundred people accused of being connected to the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Police seized four men who had gathered outside the court and turned them over to the Tbong Khmum provincial police. The two imprisoned men are believed to have been arrested in connection with a warrant issued by the provincial court accusing them of being an accomplice to incitement to commit a felony under articles 29, 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. They were sent to Tbong Khmum provincial prison this afternoon. The other two men were released yesterday evening after questioning.

The arrests came after dozens of supporters of the former opposition party gathered outside the court to protest a series of mass trials set for the coming days and weeks, in which more than 130 people are facing charges of plotting against the state or incitement to disturb social order. This morning, a group of non-violent demonstrators were barred from gathering outside the court and threatened with arrest unless they dispersed immediately. Both days, security guards attempted to stop journalists and human rights monitors from taking photos outside the court.

Yesterday’s trial, in which 60 people were summonsed to answer charges of incitement and plotting, will continue on January 28. Today, Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun appeared in court alongside former CNRP youth activist Sar Kanika, Ton Nimol and Khmer Win Party leader Soung Sophorn, also facing incitement charges. Kanika was one of more than 20 young activists arrested for peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of the imprisoned unionist, who was arrested in July over public comments he gave about border issues shortly after he visited farming communities along the Vietnam border.

3 January 2021

About 80 unionists, land activists, and CSO members gathered at the office of Solidarity House in Phnom Penh this morning to mark the seventh anniversary of the shooting on Veng Sreng Boulevard, in which security forces opened fire on striking workers, leaving at least four dead, dozens wounded and one missing.

A Buddhist ceremony and memorial service was held to remember the January 3, 2014 shooting, and several family members of killed and missing workers continued their call to find justice for their loved ones.

The four workers who were killed are Kim Phaleap, Sam Ravy, Yean Rithy and Pheng Kosal. Khem Sophath, another worker, has been missing since the shooting, and was last seen in the custody of security forces with a bullet wound in his stomach.

22 December 2020

The Siem Reap court today found two rappers, Kea Sokun and Long Putheara, guilty of incitement to commit a felony under Article 495 of the Criminal Code over songs they released addressing social issues. Sokun was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison, of which he must serve 1 year in prison with the remainder suspended. Putheara was sentenced to 5 months in prison, of which he must serve 3 months and 11 days in prison with the remainder suspended.

Sokun, who was 22 at the time of arrest, and Putheara, who was 17, were arrested in September and put into pre-trial detention over lyrics in rap songs they produced that were critical of the government’s response to social issues such as the economy and Cambodian border. The complaints against the two rappers were filed by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

10 December 2020

Family members of at least five imprisoned human rights defenders called for their loved ones’ release today, as communities across Cambodia were forced to turn to social media to celebrate Human Rights Day. With a number of local authorities refusing to allow grassroots communities to gather together to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, citing the threat of a potential COVID-19 outbreak, more than two dozen communities chose instead to launch social media campaigns calling for their fundamental freedoms to be respected.

For the first time in 27 years, Cambodians were unable to celebrate human rights day as a public holiday after the government stripped it from the calendar last year. Despite this, dozens of communities across the country organised events bringing together hundreds of farmers, workers and grassroots groups to speak out about land grabbing, workers’ rights and ongoing human rights violations facing their communities. With Cambodia experiencing its first case of COVID-19 community transmission barely two weeks before the planned celebrations, many groups turned to social media, promising an online campaign stretching until December 25. A handful of people from one community in Koh Kong province who launched their digital campaign by filming themselves posing with a banner were observed by a large group of local police.

18 November 2020

Two community representatives from Koh Kong province have been placed under judicial supervision as hundreds of community members from Sre Ambel district gathered outside the Koh Kong Court of First Instance to call for the charges against their representatives to be dropped. Both women face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Phav Nheung and Seng Lin had appeared before an investigating judge on charges of defamation and incitement to disturb social security. The women, who will now have to report monthly to district police, appear when summoned by court authorities and will not be able to move house without the court’s permission, represent almost two hundred families who have had hundreds of hectares of vital farmland seized by the Heng Huy Agriculture Group since 2008 to make way for a sugar plantation.

Both representatives were the target of a complaint launched by former community representative Chhay Vy. Vy’s brother, the late commune chief, was accused by the three women in 2019 of having seized land for himself during the unresolved land dispute. Another woman, Khorn Phun, had also been summoned for questioning over defamation charges. However, judicial supervision is not applicable for this charge.

6 September 2020

Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio’s peaceful activism calling attention to the government’s filling in of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tamok lake.

The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman – are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.

8 July 2020

A youth activist has been arrested for trying to peacefully commemorate the four-year anniversary of Kem Ley’s murder as a group of monks and activists were physically barred by a mix of district police and paramilitary security forces from praying at the site of the popular analyst’s shooting.

The activist, who was wearing a t-shirt with Kem Ley’s face on it, was seized by police as soon as he arrived at the planned memorial. He was later released after signing a contract with local authorities.

Mixed security forces formed a human chain to block participants from holding a prayer ceremony at Phnom Penh’s Caltex Bokor service station, where the political commentator was shot dead while drinking his morning coffee on 10 July 2016.

4 June 2020

A group of young environmental activists who were harassed by authorities for more than a day have been released from police questioning this afternoon. The activists were stopped by police while cycling from Koh Kong province to Phnom Penh as part of their “Save Koh Kong Krao Island” campaign in a clear attempt to intimidate the young Cambodians.

The group, which included members of environmental movement Mother Nature, were repeatedly accused by local authorities of being part of the dissolved opposition party. Police are refusing to return the activists’ bicycles until after World Environment Day on June 5, effectively cutting short their peaceful campaign to the nation’s capital.

Provincial police seized the young Cambodians’ bicycles yesterday to prevent the group from cycling to Phnom Penh to submit a petition calling for Cambodia’s largest island to be designated as a protected national park. When the group tried to continue to the capital on foot, they were stopped in the middle of the night by government officials, who pressured them to stop their journey and hand over their petition directly.

16 March 2020

Four environmental activists, including Goldman Environmental Prize-winner Ouch Leng, have been released by the Kratie provincial prosecutor after the four men were beaten on Friday by guards of Think Biotech Co, Ltd, a joint Taiwanese-Khmer company repeatedly accused of illegal logging, before being handed over to local authorities for more than two days of questioning. Throughout their detention, dozens of local community members, activists and monks peacefully gathered in front of the provincial court to call for their freedom.

Leng was arrested alongside Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) activist Khem Sokhy and Srey Thei as well as forestry activist Man Mat while investigating ongoing reports of illegal logging inside the protected Prey Lang forest. Think Biotech, which has been granted a 34,000-hectare concession, has been repeatedly accused by local communities of illegally harvesting timber within the protected forest as well as resin trees owned by local villagers.

Although none of the activists have been charged, all four remain under investigation as suspects, leaving them vulnerable to being summonsed by the police at any time.

21 February 2020

Hundreds of community members, environmental activists, monks and civil society members were stopped by authorities from entering parts of the Prey Lang protected forest this afternoon. Several different groups of participants were stopped while traveling to the intended site of an annual Buddhist ceremony, which is held to raise awareness about illegal logging and conservation of Cambodia’s largest protected area.

Authorities from the Environment Ministry and local officials, some armed with guns, told several different groups across four provinces that they required permission from a “higher level” to be allowed to enter the forest and asked for “official permission letters” from participants. Such permission is not required by law.

Several participants also reported that local authorities threatened local villagers to pressure them not to allow participants to sleep in their villages during their travel or participate in the ceremony, which lasts for several days.

28 January 2020

Former Radio Free Asia (RFA) reporters Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin remain locked in a seemingly endless legal struggle after the Appeal Court this morning rejected a complaint challenging the re-investigation into politically motivated espionage charges against the two journalists.

No explanation was given for the decision, and a written justification outlining the court’s reasoning will only be available to the defence team on request. No timeframe or trial date has yet been set for the re-investigation.

This morning’s verdict follows on from a Phnom Penh Municipal Court decision last October to further investigate allegations that the two reporters had "supplied a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence”. A previous challenge lodged by the two journalists against the re-investigation into charges under Articles 38 and 39 of the human trafficking law was also rejected in late December 2019.

22 January 2020

Around 100 people including unionists, family members and civil society representatives called on authorities to reopen the investigation into the unsolved murder of trade union leader Chea Vichea during a ceremony marking 16 years since the union leader was shot outside Wat Langka in central Phnom Penh.

Standing just metres away from the site of the shooting, trade union leaders also urged workers across the country to continue Vichea’s struggle for workers’ rights and warned that the looming withdrawal of the Everything But Arms trade agreement with the European Union could have devastating consequences for workers and their families. The peaceful Buddhist ceremony took place under surveillance by more than 60 police, plainclothes officers and Daun Penh security guards.

10 January 2020

NagaWorld has reinstated suspended union president Chhim Sithar after a two-day strike that gathered thousands of workers in front of the central Phnom Penh casino. NagaWorld representatives also told the assembled workers this evening that the company would be raising workers’ salaries after further negotiation. Workers are expected to return to work tomorrow.

The agreement came after union officials including Chhim Sithar, who was indefinitely suspended with pay in September 2019 while campaigning for better wages and working conditions, met this afternoon with NagaWorld representatives and senior officials from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training to negotiate a settlement.

9 January 2020

More than 2,000 workers from NagaWorld went on strike and peacefully assembled near the Malaysian-owned casino in central Phnom Penh this morning to protest the indefinite suspension of union leader Chhim Sithar. Workers called for an end to the ongoing harassment of union members and for a living wage for workers, while dozens of police and private security forces looked on.

Chhim Sithar, president of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Workers at NagaWorld, was suspended with pay in September 2019 while campaigning for a living wage for the thousands of workers employed in the casino complex. In June, nearly 4,000 workers signed a petition demanding a wage increase to cover the rising cost of living in the capital.

Although Sithar joined the strike and met with NagaWorld representatives and local authorities in Chamkarmon District this afternoon, company representatives have failed to reach an agreement with the workers, who said the strike will continue.

6 January 2020

The Appeal Court denied bail for Tbong Khmum community representative Phon Chhoeun in Phnom Penh this afternoon. Chhoeun was arrested in October alongside fellow community representative Sam Sang and faces multiple charges related to a land dispute between Chinese rubber company Harmony Win Investment and several communities in Dambae district, Tbong Khmum province.

In October, villagers in Dambae marched to protest the two representatives’ arrest and were blocked by security forces from observing the initial court process at Tbong Khmum Provincial Court. They were also prevented from observing an ongoing civil case filed by Harmony Win Investment seeking to deny the villagers access to their communal forest land.

More than 600 families who have relied on the land for housing and farming have been affected by the dispute, which has been ongoing since 2012. As recently as last month, Harmony Win Investment representatives brought in multiple tractors to clear the disputed land and were accompanied by approximately 30 soldiers and police. Villagers have continued to call for local and national authorities to resolve the conflict.

30 December 2019

The Appeal Court this morning upheld a verdict ordering the re-investigation of the case of two Radio Free Asia journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who were charged with Articles 38 and 39 of the human trafficking law.

LICADHO continues to call for all charges against the two former journalists to be immediately dropped.

The Appeal Court verdict this morning upheld part of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision in October to further investigate charges under Articles 38 and 39 of the human trafficking law. The Appeal Court is scheduled to rule on the separate charges of Article 445 of the Criminal Code for activities which can “undermine national defence” on 20 January 2020.