LIBRARY

28 August 2024

The Phnom Penh Capital Court this afternoon convicted Mer Seng Hor, the deputy leader for the Nation Power Party (NPP) in Kampong Cham province, to two and a half years in prison on charges of public insult and incitement to discriminate over a Facebook post that was critical of the government’s democratic track record.

Seng Hor, also known as Kea Visal, was arrested in March 2024, shortly after joining the opposition NPP. He was placed in pre-trial detention in PJ prison in Phnom Penh on charges of public insult and incitement to discriminate under Articles 307, 494 and 496 of the Criminal Code. In addition to prison time, the court today also imposed a 4 million riel (around US$1,000) fine and ordered Seng Hor to pay 20 million riel (around US$5,000) in damages to Mai Hong Sreang, a former opposition official who later joined the ruling party and filed the complaint against Seng Hor.

22 August 2024

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning dropped charges against Chea Chan, a unionist with the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) who was arrested, charged and imprisoned in February 2024.

On 20 June 2024, the Kampong Speu Provincial Court convicted Chan of being an accomplice to theft contrary to Articles 29 and 356 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to one year in prison with six months of that time suspended. Chan was released from detention on 19 August ahead of today’s verdict, on account of the suspended portion of his sentence.

16 August 2024

The Phnom Penh Capital Court yesterday convicted nine Samrong Tbong community members of intentional acts of violence and obstruction of a public official with aggravating circumstances under Articles 218 and 504 of the Criminal Code, with 2-year prison sentences that were fully suspended by the judge.

The charges stemmed from an incident on 1 October 2022, when the defendants Kong Tue, Phorn Sokhom, Prak Sophea, Say Sarith, Soeun Chamroeun, Soeun Sreysot, Tav Ny, and Yorn Kimyoeun attempted to reinforce a wooden door at Heng Meang’s home in order to improve security and protect her belongings. During this process, authorities told the defendants to stop, claiming that this activity was in violation of a construction ban. The defendants disagreed, leading to a dispute in which the authorities attempted to take down the door while the community members attempted to keep it up. Despite not being present at the time of the dispute, Heng Meang was convicted and received the same sentence as the other defendants.

15 August 2024

The Battambang Appeal Court this morning upheld the convictions of Ung Thap Reang, a journalist, on charges of public defamation and incitement to commit a felony under Articles 305 and 495 of the Criminal Code.

9 August 2024

The Supreme Court upheld the incitement conviction of Candlelight Party Vice President Thach Setha, who was sentenced to three years in prison by a lower court for a speech he gave to the opposition party’s supporters in South Korea last year.

Setha has now exhausted his appeals after the Supreme Court upheld a Phnom Penh Capital Court verdict from October 2023 that found him guilty of incitement to commit a felony and incitement to discriminate under Articles 494, 495 and 496 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a four million riel fine (around US$1,000).

7 August 2024

Koet Saray, a former monk and human rights defender, was denied bail by the Supreme Court this morning in a case related to comments he made calling for a resolution to a violent land dispute in Preah Vihear province.

The Supreme Court denied bail to Saray, who is the president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, and justified the decision citing the “repeat” nature of Saray’s offence. The bail hearing was conducted on 31 July in the absence of Saray’s lawyers.

31 July 2024

Five opposition party members were arrested across two provinces in the last six days, while a Phnom Penh court confiscated three properties belonging to Candlelight Party President Teav Vannol in relation to his recent defamation conviction.

Two Candlelight and two Khmer Will Party members from Kampong Speu’s Basedth district were arrested between 26 and 30 July and sent to pretrial detention. Ouk Sovanchhorn, a Candlelight commune councillor; Tok Dara, Candlelight’s Basedth district chief; and Boun Sarom and Chaem Savoeun, both Khmer Will district councillors, were charged under various articles of the Criminal Code for conducting routine party work.

25 July 2024

Candlelight Party President Teav Vannol was convicted of defamation this morning and ordered to pay US$1.5 million in damages to the government for comments he made to the media in February 2024.

The presiding judge at the Phnom Penh Capital Court found Vannol, who was previously a senator with the Sam Rainsy Party, guilty of defamation under Article 305 of the Criminal Code. He was ordered to pay the Cambodian government 6 billion riel ($1.5 million) in compensation and 10 million riel (around $2,500) in fines.

24 July 2024

We, the undersigned civil society groups, associations, confederations and unions, deeply regret that on 19 July 2024 the Svay Rieng Provincial Court decided to charge and send to pre-trial detention Chea Chantha, a leader of Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) in Svay Rieng province. Chantha’s work on 16 July 2024 was in line with the Cambodian government’s policy on the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Despite this, he was arrested and charged with fraud under Article 377 and 378 and for conducting “activities causing misapprehension with the discharge of public functions” under Article 610 of Criminal Code. If convicted, he will face up to 3 years in prison.

IDEA has conducted public forums in several provinces to explain social protection schemes. These forums have also seen the participation of NSSF officials to help disseminate information to workers, street vendors and domestic workers so that they can understand and voluntarily register as NSSF members. Chantha and other activists have jointly done this work to follow the government’s vision and to be part of the association’s mission to help workers in the informal sector and for them to receive social protections.

20 July 2024

Chea Chantha, a local leader of the informal worker group Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), was sent to pre-trial detention by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court on Friday evening after he was arrested on 16 July while talking to workers about accessing the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

Chantha attended a workshop on Tuesday discussing climate change and social protections in Bavet, Svay Rieng. Later, he met with workers and was talking about the NSSF, a government social service, when police arrested him.

18 July 2024

The Siem Reap Provincial Court this morning convicted three Kuy community members as part of a long-standing dispute with the Ministry of Environment and military over land within the Chub Saom Community Protected Area (CPA) inside the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary.

In August 2023, Ministry of Environment officials, accompanied by local authorities and military officials, destroyed trees at the mango farm of two land activists, San Sre and Breng. The incident was live streamed by Sre’s brother, San Seth. A few weeks later, all three family members — who are Kuy and have been actively advocating for roughly 250 families’ land rights amid growing pressure from authorities — were told that criminal charges had been filed against them.

16 July 2024

A monk in Battambang province was expelled from his pagoda yesterday, several days after he participated in a peaceful march to mark the 8th anniversary of Kem Ley’s death.

Venerable Sang Rithy was expelled by the pagoda committee of Battambang city’s Wat Damrei Sorwas on the evening of 15 July. The monk is currently residing at another pagoda in the city.

Venerable Rithy participated in a march with other monks and youth activists on 10 July to mark the anniversary of the 2016 shooting of social researcher and commentator Kem Ley. The group held banners of Kem Ley and other prominent murdered activists and called for the release of the recently imprisoned Mother Nature environmental activists. Authorities initially attempted to block the peaceful assembly, but participants continued the march, ending at the Independence Monument in the center of the city.

10 July 2024

Youth activists, monks, civil society members and family members of imprisoned activists marched together in Phnom Penh today to mark the 8-year anniversary of the killing of political analyst Kem Ley, calling for justice for him and for the release of imprisoned student movement and environmental activists.

After marches through the capital, at around 9 am the groups gathered at the Caltex Bokor gas station where Kem Ley was murdered on 10 July 2016, shot as he was drinking his morning coffee. The subsequent investigation was inadequate and civil society continues to demand a credible and independent investigation into the murder, while authorities have at times cracked down on attempts to commemorate the anniversary of his death.

4 July 2024

The Phnom Penh Capital Court’s conviction and sentencing of 10 Mother Nature activists to 6-8 years in prison, and the arrest of five of them on 2 July 2024, is a shame for our nation. Silencing environmental defenders and characterising their peaceful advocacy as a threat to the state is a mockery of justice.

It is well past time for authorities to listen to and work with youth and environmental activists. Stop spending resources harassing, threatening and prosecuting the brave and passionate young people who are working to protect Cambodia’s most precious natural resources.

3 July 2024

The five Mother Nature activists arrested yesterday after being sentenced to 6-8 years in prison have been sent to five different prisons, some hundreds of kilometres from their residences and families. Splitting up activists to ensure they are detained far from each other and their families is a cruel and unusual punishment that has no precedent in Cambodia.

Thun Ratha was sent to Correctional Center 3 in Tbong Khmum province; Ly Chandaravuth to Kandal prison; Phuon Keoraksmey to Pursat provincial prison; Yim Leanghy to Kampong Speu prison; and Long Kunthea to Preah Vihear prison.

Sending people to prisons far away from their families and lawyers has been recognised as an infringement of people’s human rights by the United Nations. It is also a clear violation of the “Nelson Mandela Rules” for the humane treatment of prisoners, which calls for people in prison to be close to their homes.

2 July 2024

Ten Mother Nature environmental activists were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of between 6 and 8 years by a Phnom Penh court this morning, while four of the youth activists who were present outside the court were violently arrested by security personnel.

The panel of judges delivered the verdict at the Phnom Penh Capital Court Tuesday morning, concluding the trial that hinged on two criminal charges - plotting and insulting the king — which were related to Mother Nature activists’ peaceful environmental activism.

27 June 2024

The Interior Ministry’s decision to investigate the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) for a 4 June report the NGO issued about the Better Factories Cambodia programme is a clear reprisal and an attempt to intimidate an NGO that is committed to improving the freedom of association for all Cambodian workers and unions.

27 June 2024

Twelve Koh Kong land activists were convicted by a provincial court on incitement charges for attempting to travel to Phnom Penh in 2023 to petition authorities for a resolution to their long-standing land dispute.

The Koh Kong Provincial Court found all 12 defendants guilty of incitement on Wednesday and imposed a suspended sentence of six months in prison. The defendants are Det Huor, Heng Chey, Inn Thou, Lang Cheav, Phav Nheung, Seng Lin, Sok Chey, Soung Theng, Tith Tang, Yi Kunthea, Yoeut Khmao, and Rek Soeung.

In July 2023, the group of activists from three communities were stopped at Srae Ambel district in Koh Kong and prevented from reaching Phnom Penh to deliver a petition to Justice Minister Koeut Rith. A majority of the defendants — including Nheung, Lin, Heng Chey and Sok Chey — have also faced multiple charges in separate cases.

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.