LIBRARY

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.

4 November 2019

The Supreme Court issued a verdict this morning denying bail to Kong Raiya, who was arrested on 9 July 2019 after advertising in a Facebook post that he was selling t-shirts featuring the image of slain political analyst Kem Ley.

Raiya was charged with “incitement to commit felony”, along with Soung Neakpaon, who was arrested the day after Raiya at a memorial event for Kem Ley and faces the same charges. Both men are currently being held in CC1 prison in Phnom Penh.

Eighty-seven civil society groups, unions and grassroots communities, including LICADHO, issued a statement calling for the release of both Raiya and Neakpaon a few days after their arrest in July. The statement noted their arrests were arbitrary and a clear violation of the pair’s right to freedom of expression under the Cambodian Constitution. Five current human rights special rapporteurs from the United Nations (UN) also called for the dropping of all charges against both Raiya and Neakpaon and urged the Cambodian government to release both men. International human rights organization Amnesty International has labeled Raiya and Neakpaon “Prisoners of Conscience” and also called for their release, as has the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

23 October 2019

More than 500 people from land communities, civil society organisations, unions and independent analyst groups gathered in Phnom Penh on Wednesday morning to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords.

The celebration occured at the relocated Freedom Park, and speeches were given praising the promises of peace, democracy, respect for human rights and development enshrined in the Paris Peace Accords. Representatives from the US and EU embassy joined participants to listen to speeches from independent analysts and union leaders, who discussed the importance of respect for human rights and pluralistic democracy. Dozens of plainclothes and uniformed security officers were also present.

Organisers were denied permission to march from The Council for the Development of Cambodia and instead held the event in the confines of Freedom Park. The government announced earlier this year that October 23, Paris Peace Accords Day, will no longer be an official holiday starting next year.

21 October 2019

More than 100 community members were blocked by mixed security forces in Tbong Khmum province today as they traveled to protest the arrest of two community representatives last week and observe a civil case filed by a rubber company seeking to deny them access to community land.

Community members posted on their community’s Facebook page this morning that the villagers from Dambe district were traveling to observe the court process at the Tbong Khmum provincial court, but their vehicles were stopped by authorities en route. After about 100 security forces halted the community and barricaded the roads about 20 kilometers from the court, the community members were forced to walk the remaining distance and, after arriving at the court, were observed by about 50 additional security forces.

Villagers went to monitor a civil case filed by a representative of Harmony Win Investment Co, a Chinese-owned rubber plantation that is involved in a long-standing conflict with the community over communal forest land. Villagers have repeatedly called for local and national authorities to resolve the conflict, which affects more than 600 families. They also called for the release of two community representatives involved in the dispute, Phon Chhoeun and Sem Sang, who were arrested last week and are currently being detained in Kampong Cham prison over charges related to the land dispute.

3 October 2019

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning once again delayed a verdict announcement for two former Radio Free Asia journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who face charges of providing information to a foreign power that could undermine national defence. The judge ordered further investigation of the case, a judgement that came amidst a trial that has failed to provide any credible evidence substantiating the charges.

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

A Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge announced this morning that the court would not issue a verdict announcement in the case and instead would further investigate several key facts, including conducting further forensic analysis on hard drives that have been in the court’s possession for more than 18 months. No timeframe was given for such an investigation. This ongoing legal process means that the two former journalists could continue to face charges without any credible evidence indefinitely.

25 July 2019

Kong Raiya and Soung Neakpaon, two activists arrested on 9 and 10 July 2019 while peacefully commemorating the anniversary of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, were denied bail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Both men were arrested after peacefully exercising their freedom of expression and were charged with criminal incitement. Raiya, 28, was arrested on 9 July 2019 after he posted on Facebook that he was selling t-shirts featuring the image of Kem Ley, and also posted the phone number of a taxi driver who could bring people to Phnom Penh to commemorate the slain analyst. Neakpaon, 29, was arrested the day after Raiya outside of the Caltex Bokor petrol station where Kem Ley was murdered three years earlier. Neakpaon, a former member of Kem Ley’s youth group, was holding a sign that read “End extrajudicial killings” prior to his arrest.

Neither of these men should be in prison for exercising their freedom of expression, which is guaranteed under Cambodian and international law. LICADHO reiterates the call from 87 civil society groups for authorities to immediately release both men and drop all charges against them.

1 April 2019

Sum Meun, a Preah Vihear community representative who was missing for more than two months, has been located by his family in Sihanoukville.

Sum Meun disappeared from the Koulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary Headquarters on January 21, a day after being arrested and beaten by soldiers who were hired as security guards for a land concession granted to Metrei Pheap Kase-Ousahakam Co. Ltd, in Choam Khsant district’s Yeang commune. The concession has links to tycoon An Mady.

The community representative was last seen by his son, Meun Mean, who was arrested along with Sum Meun. He left the province in January due to fears for his safety. Preah Vihear provincial authorities released a statement on 31 March confirming that they met with Sum Meun in Phnom Penh over the weekend.

22 January 2019

About 100 people including trade unionists, teachers, and tuk-tuk drivers gathered in central Phnom Penh this morning to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the murder of Chea Vichea, one of the country’s most prominent trade unionists.

On 22 January 2004, Vichea was shot in broad daylight at a newspaper stall near the capital’s Wat Langka temple. Trade union activists and members of civil society gathered metres away from the site of his murder this morning to hold a Buddhist ceremony and give speeches honouring the former union leader, who served as President of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC).

The injustice of Vichea’s murder was later compounded by the false convictions of two innocent men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeurn, who were falsely accused of his murder. Both men spent five years in prison before their sentences were overturned. Participants at the commemoration called on authorities to find the real perpetrators and provide justice for Vichea, his family and friends.

3 January 2019

Residents of Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila community today commemorated the seven-year anniversary of their violent and forced eviction in 2012, to make way for a high-rise development project owned by an influential businesswoman.

Around 40 community and civil society members gathered at the site to perform a religious ceremony and addressed the media on their eviction and land rights issues. However, 10 police officers were present at the site to monitor the event, and prevented residents from hanging or holding banners highlighting their grievances.

On 3 January 2012, residents of the community were evicted from the site when Phan Imex Corporation, owned by well-connected tycoon Suy Sophan, demolished their homes without any notice, with the aid of the armed state forces.

5 October 2018

Cambodia’s new repressive lèse majesté law was used for the first time yesterday to convict a former opposition party official who was handed a one year sentence.

Ban Somphy, a 70-year-old barber and former district leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was detained on 20 May 2018. He was accused of sharing a Facebook post allegedly criticising King Norodom Sihamoni which included a picture of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife and a video of angry villagers affected by flooding.

He was sentenced by Siem Reap provincial court under Criminal Code article 437 bis which was amended by the National Assembly in February amid strong opposition from civil society groups who warned that it would be used to silence government critics.

1 October 2018

A defamation conviction against former human rights worker Ny Chakrya was rejected and referred back to the Appeal Court for re-trial this morning due to insufficient evidence. The case marks the first use of a repressive penal code article criminalising criticism of judicial decisions.

The former Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) staffer – and current Deputy Secretary-General of the National Election Committee – was convicted to six months in prison and fined six million riel (US$1,500) by Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 22 September 2016. He was found guilty of defamation, malicious denunciation and unlawfully coercing judicial authorities (Articles 305, 311 and 522 of the Cambodian Criminal Code).

Chakrya was charged following a complaint by an investigating judge and a deputy prosecutor at Siem Reap Provincial Court over comments he allegedly made at two ADHOC press conferences in May 2015 regarding a land dispute case and the jailing of two victims of land rights violations.