Cambodia: NGO worker target of judicial harrasment
Event- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Aug 15, 2012
- Event Description
On August 9, 2012, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued a citation summoning Mr. Soveth to appear before an investigating judge on August 24, 2012. Mr. Soveth was charged with "providing assistance to the perpetrator" of a "crime" under Article 544 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, and faces an imprisonment sentence of one to three years and a fine of two million to six million Riels. Exact details behind this charge have not yet been disclosed by the government, but they appear to be connected to a long-standing land dispute in Kratie province. On May 16, 2012, the government sent in hundreds of armed security personnel, supported by helicopters, to evict villagers who were living in an area in Kratie province marked for development by a Russian company. During the eviction, Ms. Heng Chantha, a 14-year-old girl, was shot dead. Government officials later justified the operation by claiming the villagers, some of whom are members of the Independent Democrats Association, were part of a secession movement. ADHOC released a statement on May 17 and condemned the killing of the young girl[1]. It is believed that the charges against Mr. Soveth are linked to his sheltering of a land activist involved in this issue. The court citation was signed on August 9, 2012, just eight days after Prime Minister Hun Sen made accusatory references in a nationally televised speech to an unnamed "human rights worker" for his role in providing assistance to villagers in relation to this land dispute. The Observatory recalls that ADHOC has been repeatedly harassed by the government in recent years. In July 2012, armed police officers raided a training session on land rights organised jointly by ADHOC and the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) in Rattanakiri province[2]. Moreover, Mr. Soum Chankea, ADHOC's Provincial Coordinator in Banteay Meanchey province, faced spurious charges of defamation, which the court eventually dropped in June 2012. Furthermore, in January 2011, Mr. Sam Chankea, ADHOC's coordinator in Kampong Chhnang province, was convicted of defamation, in connection to a critical statement he made about land-grabbing by a Cambodian company during an interview with Radio Free Asia in December 2009[3]. On July 2012, independent radio station owner Mr. Mam Sonando was arrested and is currently in pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh, facing charges of 'secession' in relation to the same land dispute in Kratie[4]. The government has yet to present any credible evidence substantiating its claims that a secessionist movement exists in Kratie. The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about these acts of judicial harassment of Mr. Chan Soveth, since they seem to merely aim at hindering his human rights activities, in a context of continued governmental harassment against human rights defenders, including against other ADHOC members. The Observatory therefore calls upon the Cambodian authorities to stop any judicial actions against Mr. Chan Soveth aimed at curbing his legitimate human rights work and to put an end to all acts of harassment against him as well as against all human rights defenders in Cambodia.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Violation
- Judicial Harassment
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Active
- Event Location
Latitude: 11.558831
Longitude: 104.917445
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 9 August 9 2012, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued a citation summoning Mr. Soveth to appear before an investigating judge on 24 August 2012. Mr. Soveth is charged with "providing assistance to the perpetrator" of a "crime" under Article 544 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, and faces an imprisonment sentence of one to three years and a fine of two million to six million Riels. Exact details behind this charge have not yet been disclosed by the government, but they appear to be connected to a long-standing land dispute in Kratie province. On 16 May 2012, the government sent in hundreds of armed security personnel, supported by helicopters, to evict villagers who were living in an area in Kratie province marked for development by a Russian company. During the eviction, Ms. Heng Chantha, a 14-year-old girl, was shot dead. Government officials later justified the operation by claiming the villagers, some of whom are members of the Independent Democrats Association, were part of a secession movement. ADHOC released a statement on 17 May 2012and condemned the killing of the young girl. It is believed that the charges against Mr. Soveth are linked to his sheltering of a land activist involved in this issue. The court citation was signed on 9 August 2012, just eight days after Prime Minister Hun Sen made accusatory references in a nationally televised speech to an unnamed "human rights worker" for his role in providing assistance to villagers in relation to this land dispute.