LIBRARY

10 March 2022

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning upheld the lower court’s decision to deny bail to eight union members and leaders from the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). After the verdict, the eight were returned to Correctional Centre 1 (CC1) and Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) in Phnom Penh, where they are in pre-trial detention on charges of incitement.

The eight were arrested in December 2021 and January 2022 while participating in a strike against NagaWorld casino. They include union leader Chhim Sithar, union secretary Chhim Sokhorn, and unionists Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Ry Sovandy, Sun Srey Pich, and Touch Sereymeas, as well as former union member Sok Narith. The Appeal Court’s decision came one day after a high-level meeting between leaders from the police, courts, and ministries organized by Interior Minister Sar Kheng to discuss the NagaWorld labour dispute.

Three additional LRSU members - Choub Channath, Sao Sambath, and Seng Vannarith – are also in pre-trial detention after being arrested in February 2022 on charges of obstructing enforcement measures under the newly passed Covid-19 law. Despite these arrests, union members have continued their strike to call for NagaWorld to respect labour rights and reinstate improperly dismissed workers, even as the government has arrested the union’s leaders, harassed striking workers, and detained more than one hundred strikers in government quarantine facilities using the new Covid-19 law in recent months.

23 February 2022

Brigade 70 soldiers and workers hired to clear forested land used violence, beat villagers and fired weapons into the ground yesterday morning in Aoral district, Kampong Speu province, as part of an ongoing land conflict around a forest granted to a military unit. Three villagers were left injured, including a 23-year-old man, a 41-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman.

Villagers had gathered in Trapeang Chour commune in an effort to defend their community's forested land from being cleared. Today, six community members also appeared for questioning at the Kampong Speu provincial court after being summonsed by a prosecutor.

The land conflict began after the government granted 262 hectares of protected land within the Aoral Wildlife Sanctuary to the armoured vehicle military unit “ACO” through a sub decree dated 20 August 2021. The conflict involves more than 253 families, many of whom have mobilized for months to protect their forested land. In April 2003, the Ministry of Environment declared part of the land a community protected area. Since the recent giveaway, soldiers have been seen using heavy machinery in an attempt to clear the forest.

21 February 2022

Authorities detained as many as 64 striking workers from the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) this afternoon as they continued their peaceful strike, forcing 56 women and 8 men into crowded buses and bringing them to a Covid-19 quarantine center run by Cambodian Women for Peace and Development in Prek Phnov district, Phnom Penh.

The use of Covid -19 measures to crackdown on the striking workers has been ongoing for weeks, despite no such public health measures being applied to any other group of citizens. Hundreds of workers have submitted to multiple Covid-19 tests and completed government-mandated quarantine measures at home prior to today's arrests. On 9 February, three workers were charged under the Covid-19 law with obstructing enforcement measures, marking a total of 11 union members and leaders charged and imprisoned since the strike began in December 2021. Eight others have been charged with incitement.

On 16 February, five UN special rapporteurs decried the use of Covid-19 quarantine measures on the striking workers, noting a “general inconsistency and lack of transparency” in the country’s Covid-19 measures, calling the three arrests “unjustified, unnecessary and disproportionate.”

9 February 2022

Three more unionists from the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) were charged on Wednesday with obstructing authorities’ health measures and sent to pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh’s PJ prison. Deputy prosecutor Seng Heang has also issued an “order to bring” for four additional LRSU unionists, which compels authorities to forcibly take them in for questioning.

Choub Channath, Sao Sambath and Seng Vannarith were charged under Article 11 of the Covid-19 law, with authorities accusing them of obstruction of enforcement measures. The charges carry between six months and three years in prison and a fine of up to 10 million riel – though the penalty increases to between two and five years in prison and a fine of up to 20 million riel if the act leads to Covid-19 infections or has “serious impact” on public health.

The three men were arrested on Saturday around 7:30 pm as they were leaving a Koh Pich Covid-19 testing site in a tuk-tuk. Earlier that day, the government ordered LRSU strikers into buses to go to the testing center and take multiple Covid tests. Strikers had complied with the order, including the three detained individuals who had all tested negative. A total of six people were arrested that evening, but three were later released.

5 January 2022

Today the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered LRSU union leader Chhim Sithar to be sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) prison, while union activist Sok Narith was ordered to be sent to Correctional Centre 1 (CC1) prison, and a third activist, Sok Kongkea, was ordered released on bail and placed under judicial supervision.

All three face charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, the same charges faced by six other members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) who were arrested on 31 December 2021. The other six detained unionists currently held in CC2 prison are Chhim Sokhorn, Kleang Soben, Sun Sreypich, Hai Sopheap, Ry Sovandy, Touch Sereymeas.

Sithar was violently arrested yesterday while trying to join hundreds of other LRSU members at a strike site near the NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh. 119 local groups have called for all 9 unionists immediate release and for the incitement charges to be dropped, and for the company and government to address workers’ demands peacefully.

18 December 2021

More than 700 current and former employees of NagaWorld went on strike this morning in front of the Phnom Penh casino, and continued their strike after a Phnom Penh Court official informed them that the court had ruled it illegal.

The group of workers from the Labor Rights Supported Union of khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) were surrounded by hundreds of police, para-police and company security guards as they gathered this morning to reiterate nine demands, including the reinstatement of 365 workers who were among the more than 1,300 workers laid off by the company in April 2021.

Those layoffs unfairly targeted union members and leaders, and union leaders have filed complaints to the Ministry of Labour and Arbitration Council arguing the company violated Cambodian law and several ILO conventions. The layoffs were also often accompanied by improper compensation, according to LRSU leaders, who said in a press release that support for the strike action stood at 97% of the 1,653 members who voted.

12 November 2021

Six Mother Nature activists who are facing felony and misdemeanour criminal charges were released on bail this evening from Phnom Penh’s Correctional Centre 1 and Correctional Centre 2 prisons. They were reunited with their family’s after spending up to 14 months in prison. The six activists were also placed under judicial supervision, requiring monthly visits to local authorities and limiting their freedom of movement.

Sun Ratha and Yim Leanghy were arrested on 16 June 2021 and charged with plotting and insulting the King under articles 453 and 437(bis) of the Criminal Code. Ly Chandaravuth was also arrested on the same day and charged with plotting. Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea, and Phuon Keoraksmey were added to the case and charged with plotting in July 2021 while they were serving prison sentences from a separate conviction on incitement charges in May 2021.

On 5 November, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court suspended parts of Ratha, Kunthea and Keoraksmey’s sentences. They would have soon been eligible for release, but continued to be held under the detention order issued in this case by the investigating judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court in July 2021. The charges of plotting and insulting the King, which carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, relate to comments allegedly made during private online meetings.

12 November 2021

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning upheld the convictions of activists Rong Chhun, Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol and suspended parts of their sentences. The three activists were convicted of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 18 August 2021 for exercising their rights to freedom of expression.

Chhun must serve 15 months and 11 days in prison, with the remainder of his two-year sentence suspended by the appeal court. Kanika must serve 15 months and 5 days in prison and Nimol must serve 14 months and 24 days in prison, with the remainder of their 20-month sentences suspended. Chhun and Kanika have already spent more than 15 months in prison, while Nimol has been detained for over 12 months. They will remain under probation for three years following their release, and subject to a host of restrictive conditions such as not associating with each other and informing a prosecutor of any change of address or occupation under Articles 119 and 120.

The appeal court also upheld the order for the three activists to each pay 2 million riel ($500) in fines, and jointly pay 400 million riel ($100,000) in damages, both of which are unusually high amounts.

8 November 2021

Three Mother Nature activists who recently had portions of their “incitement” prison sentences suspended remain in pre-trial detention due to a judge’s order related to charges of plotting in a separate case.

This detention comes despite the decision of the Phnom Penh Appeal Court on Friday to suspend parts of their prison sentences in an incitement case. The three activists —Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey — were convicted on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code in May 2021 and sentenced to between 18 and 20 months in prison. The Phnom Penh Appeal Court suspended up to six months of their sentences on 5 November, which would have made them eligible for release from prison this month, as they have already been detained since their arrest in September 2020.

However, the activists continue to be held in pre-trial detention due to a second case, with an order issued by the investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 22 July 2021 in connection with additional plotting charges that were filed against the three activists in July 2021 under Article 453 of the Criminal Code. Three additional activists who are charged in that case also remain in pre-trial detention. Ratha, Kunthea and Keoraksmey, who were 28, 22 and 19 years old at the time of their arrest, were first arrested over their planning of a one-woman march to the prime minister’s house to discuss the filling in of the capital’s Boeung Tamok lake.

5 November 2021

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning suspended parts of the prison sentences of three imprisoned Mother Nature activists and placed them under judicial supervision for three years, meaning they face onerous reporting requirements or else risk being forced to serve the remaining sentences.

The three activists – Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey – were sentenced in May 2021 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code over the planning of a one-woman march to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to discuss the filling in of Boeung Tamok lake in the capital’s north. They have been imprisoned since their arrest in September 2020.

Ratha was originally sentenced to 20 months in prison, but this morning’s ruling resulted in six months being suspended. Kunthea and Keoraksmey had been handed 18-month sentences, and this morning they had four months of those sentences suspended. The trio’s pre-trial detention began on 6 September 2020. Two other Mother Nature activists, Chea Kunthin and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, were also convicted in absentia in the lower court case.

1 November 2021

This morning the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced a 16-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder to eight months in prison over content he shared on Facebook and Telegram. The child, the son of a detained political opposition member and an activist, was convicted of incitement and insult of public officials under Articles 494, 495 and 502 of the Criminal Code. He will serve four months and 15 days in prison, with the remainder of the sentence suspended.

The child is due to be released from prison this month but he will remain under probation for two additional years, during which time he will be required to appear before the court whenever summoned; inform the court if he changes address; and obtain permission to leave the country, among other conditions.

The trial hearing was open to the public and this morning monitors were permitted to enter the courtroom in which the child was present. Monitors were then ordered to leave the courtroom before the verdict was read. When leaving the courtroom after the verdict announcement, his mother was escorted out of the court building by officials as she attempted to inform monitors and the media who were waiting outside the courtroom about the verdict.

26 October 2021

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court today sentenced 10 currently detained political, social and youth activists to 20 months in prison and fined them 2 million riel each ($500) over charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. They each must serve from 14 to 15 months in prison, with the remainder of their sentences suspended. The 10 activists, already detained for over one year, are each due to be released from prison in November 2021, however they were placed under probation for two additional years, requiring them to alert the court if they move, change jobs or want to leave the country, among other conditions. Four additional individuals were also sentenced in absentia.

The sentenced social and youth activists, many of whom were part of the Khmer Thavrak movement, include Chhoeun Daravy, Hun Vannak, Mean Prummony, Koet Saray, Tha Lavy, Moung Sopheak, and Eng Malai. Daravy and Vannak were each sentenced to serve 15 months in prison, while the others must serve 14 months. They were arrested in August and September 2020 in relation to their peaceful gatherings around the court to call for the release of jailed union leader Rong Chhun, who remains in prison after being convicted of incitement on 18 August 2021.

The trial mostly consisted of the activists being asked if they had obtained prior permission to gather, and if they had someone from outside the country encouraging or paying them to engage in the peaceful calls for Rong Chhun’s release. In their closing statements, many of the activists noted that they had only engaged in peaceful demonstrations, that the conditions in Cambodia’s overcrowded prisons were difficult, and that the trial lacked justice.

22 October 2021

Authorities pushed women protesters to the ground and confiscated banners from a group of around 20 demonstrators who gathered in front of the French Embassy this morning. Police and para-police outnumbered demonstrators and used excessive force to disrupt the protesters from holding banners and speaking to the media.

The group of women protesters, often called the “Friday Women”, have for months gathered in front of various embassies and state institutions to call for the release of their imprisoned family members, who are former members or officials in the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by Cambodian courts in November 2017. They have previously been harassed and pushed by security forces during peaceful demonstrations.

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Authorities Shove, Harass Families of Detained Opposition

Three of the demonstrators entered the French Embassy to deliver their petition, including Prum Chantha, the mother of a detained 16-year-old with autism spectrum disorder. Her son was arrested in June 2021 for incitement and insult of public officials, while her husband Kak Komphear, a former CNRP official, has been in jail since June 2020 on charges of conspiracy and incitement. The other petitioners were Seng Chan Thon, whose husband Sun Thun was a former CNRP activist, high school teacher and local union leader and was arrested in June 2020; and Out Chanthy, whose husband Yoem Sareth was a former elected commune councillor in Phnom Penh for the CNRP and was arrested in March 2020.

13 October 2021

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court indefinitely delayed the scheduled reading of a verdict in a case involving a 16-year-old child who is the son of a jailed former political opposition member, giving the reason that the judge in the case was “busy”.

The child, whose mother says has autism spectrum disorder, was charged with incitement and insult of public officials after being arrested on 24 June 2021. Evidence in the case included messages sent over Telegram. The charges under Articles 494, 495 and 502 of the Criminal Code carry a maximum of two years in prison as well as fines.

The child was previously denied release under court supervision on 3 August 2021 and has now been detained 111 days without access to his family. He was previously the target of violent attacks, including an incident in April 2021 when a brick was thrown at his head, requiring stitches.

30 September 2021

Today the Koh Kong Provincial Court convicted Youn Chhiv, the publisher of Koh Kong Hot News, of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. Less than 72 hours after he was detained, he was sentenced to one year in prison.

The conviction followed an instruction by Minister of National Defense, General Tea Banh, to investigate Youn Chhiv over allegedly false information he posted about the Koh Kong deputy governor’s involvement in a land dispute in the province.

Youn Chhiv was summoned by the Botum Sakor district police and presented himself for questioning on Tuesday. He was made to write a letter of apology to the deputy governor and agreed to remove an article posted on his media outlet’s Facebook page before the case was sent to the court yesterday. The case went to trial today, without a judicial investigation being opened, on the grounds that he was allegedly caught in the act of committing the crime (in flagrante delicto).

28 August 2021

Two land community representatives in Svay Rieng province were sent to pre-trial detention today on charges of disobeying administrative measures and obstructing against the implementation of prevention measures, under Articles 10 and 11 of the recently passed Covid Law, which carry up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 20 million riels each.

Ms. Yous Sophorn and Ms. En Soth, two representatives from Samaki Chek Meas community in Svay Chrum district, were summonsed by provincial police on Friday morning and were arrested after arriving at the police station. The summons related to a community protest in a rice field involving more than 100 villagers that took place on 2 August 2021, during which authorities accused the two women of not following proper health measures and fined them 2 million riels each. The Svay Chrum district governor told local media at the time that if the women did not pay the fine within one month, they would face additional legal measures.

UN experts in April raised concerns about the “excessive prison sentences and fines” in the government’s Law on Preventive Measures Against the Spread of Covid-19 and other Severe and Dangerous Contagious Diseases, or the Covid Law, which was hastily passed and enacted without proper consultations in March 2021.

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.