Cambodia: around 40 environmental rights defenders prevented from gathering and threatened
Event- Country
- Cambodia
- Initial Date
- Apr 25, 2020
- Event Description
Roughly 40 youth and environmental activists including Natural Resources Protection Group (NRPG) president Chheuy Odorm Reaksmey, the son of murdered environmental activist Chut Wutty, are stopped from gathering in Prey Lang forest to commemorate the anniversar y of Wutty’s death by ten armed environmental rangers and threatened with arrest. The armed men were led by provincial environment department chief Meas Nhoem, as well as the Rovieng deputy district governor and accompanied by local health officials who claimed that the ban was intended to stop the spread of COVID-19. The next day, commander of Intervention Brigade No. 3 Srey Deuk sent 50 soldiers into the forest to search for five environmental activists – Ouch Leng, Khem Sokhy, Srey Thei, Srey Tin and Heng Srar – who had attended the event.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- #COVID-19
- Freedom of assembly
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Environmental rights defender
- Perpetrator-State
- Police
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 13.259909222916615
Longitude: 105.57817107889915
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 25 April 2020, around 40 environmental rights defenders were prevented allegedly due to COVID-19 outbreak to stage an event to commemorate the death of an EHRD, and threatened with arrest by armed forest officers in Prey Lang forest, Cambodia.