Cambodia: environmental activist sentenced to one year in prison for allegedly __�havesting timber products without a permit___
Event- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Mar 3, 2016
- Event Description
The Observatory has been informed by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) about the sentencing of Mr. Ven Vorn, an Areng Valley environmental activist and a community leader for the indigenous Chong minority in Koh Kong Province. According to the information received, on March 3, 2016, the Koh Kong Provincial Court found Mr. Ven Vorn guilty of "harvesting timber products and/or non-timber forest products without a permit" (Article 98 of the Forestry Law) and sentenced him to a one-year suspended prison sentence. Mr. Ven Vorn was released on the same day from Koh Kong Provincial Prison, where he had been detained since his arrest on October 7, 2015 (See background information). The Observatory welcomes the release of Mr. Ven Vorn but strongly condemns his conviction and the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment to which he was subjected, which only aimed at sanctioning his legitimate human rights activities. The conviction of activists involved in high-profile cases and their release on suspended sentences has become an often-used tactic by the Cambodian authorities to criminalize legitimate activism. Accordingly, the Observatory calls on the Cambodian authorities to put an end to all acts of judicial harassment against all human rights defenders in Cambodia. The Observatory recalls that Messrs. Sim Samnang, Tri Sovichea and San Mala, members of the organisation "Mother Nature"[1],have been arbitrarily detained since August 17, 2015[2]. The Observatory calls on the Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the three and drop all charges against them. Background information: On September 2, 2015, 17 persons, including Mr. Ven Vorn, were arrested outside Koh Kong Provincial Court. They were picketing to demand the release of the three jailed activists, Messrs. Sim Samnang, Tri Sovichea, and San Mala, who had been involved in protests against a hydroelectric dam (see below). Mr. Ven Vorn was subsequently released. On October 7, 2015, Mr. Ven Vorn was re-arrested and sent to Koh Kong Provincial Prison. The arrest followed the decision of Investigating Judge Mr. Min Makara, who had questioned Mr. Ven Vorn on the same morning and charged him with "harvesting timber products and/or non-timber forest products without a permit" (Article 98 of the Forestry Law) and "destruction of evidence" (Article 533 of the Criminal Code). Both of the above-mentioned charges related to the construction by Mr. Vorn and a group of local activists of a small visitor centre and community meeting place for local activists involved in a campaign against the proposed construction of a hydropower dam in the Areng Valley. According to activists and environmental groups, the hydropower dam poses a threat to their land, livelihood, and the natural environment. For this project, Mr. Vorn and others had purchased approximately 10 cubic metres of wood from a vendor in 2014, which authorities claimed had been procured by the vendor through illegal logging. On February 17, 2016, Mr. Ven Vorn appeared before the Koh Kong Provincial Court to hear charges of "harvesting timber products and/or non-timber forest products without a permit" (Article 98 of the Forestry Law) and "destruction of evidence" (Article 533 of the Criminal Code). The court dropped the charge of "destruction of evidence" due to a lack of evidence. Mr. Ven Vorn faced up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to ten million Riel (about 2,250 Euros). Mr. Ven Vorn had been previously questioned on April 3, 2015 at the Koh Kong Provincial Court in relation to the same alleged illegal logging incident before being released on the same day.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Indigenous peoples' rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Judiciary
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 11.576280400000007
Longitude: 103.3587288
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 3 March 2016, the Koh Kong Provincial Court found Mr. Ven Vorn, a member of Mother Nature Cambodia, a Cambodian environmental organization, guilty in violation of article 98 of the Forestry Law ("harvesting timber products and/or non-timber forest products without a permit") and handed him a one-year prison sentence.