Despite hopes to the contrary, 10 female land activists, including seven well-known Boeung Kak lake protesters, and a monk, had their convictions upheld yesterday morning at the Appeal Court, two and a half months after they were arrested and sentenced to a year in prison within 24 hours of their respective arrests. Although most received slight reductions in their prison terms and fines, it appeared to be of little consolation. Following the verdict, the jump-suited defendants yelled and protested the "injustice" of the decision in the courtroom before being dragged out and into waiting police vans. Two of the group - Boeung Kak community leader Tep Vanny and monk Soeun Hai - were not offered any leniency in their jail sentences by presiding judge Nguon Im. As news of the verdict arrived outside the court, waiting family members, including a number of children, were inconsolable as they clutched portraits of their mothers, wives and daughters. Thirty-six NGOs, rights groups and unions later slammed the verdicts as "indefensible", saying they followed an appeal hearing "that was characterised by an almost total absence of fair trial rights". The seven Boeung Kak women were convicted on November 11 for blocking traffic on Monivong Boulevard with a bed during a protest the day before, in which they called on City Hall to drain floodwater from their houses. Five of them - Kong Chantha, Song Srey Leap, Bo Chhovy, Nong Sreng and Phan Chhunreth - had two months shaved off their sentences yesterday. They were also ordered to pay a fine of 1.5 million riel, about $375, rather than the original 2 million. Nget Khun, the 75-year-old protest stalwart known as "mummy", had her sentence and fine halved, meaning she has less than four months remaining to serve. Vanny had her fine reduced to 1.5 million riel but saw her prison term remain intact. During the hearing, the judges denied a defence request to show a video that allegedly proved the women had not blocked traffic. Separately, the three women in the second case - arrested on November 11 while protesting outside the court during the trial of the Boueng Kak seven - had their sentences reduced from one year to 10 months. Im Srey Touch, Heng Pich and Phoung Sopheap were all convicted on November 12 for "aggravated obstruction of public officials". Pich lives at Boeung Kak, while Srey Touch is a former resident. Their fines were also reduced from 2 million to 1.5 million riel. But Soeun Hai, a monk from Stung Meanchey pagoda who was defrocked after his arrest, had his one-year sentence and 2-million-riel fine upheld. Hai took part in a number of protests last year outside the Vietnamese Embassy after a spokesman's views on the history of the former Kampuchea Krom provinces sparked controversy. In explaining his verdict and the sentence reductions, judge Im said he had tried to "offer leniency" to older and ill housewives who need to take care of their children. Hai, however, as a monk, had "damaged the national religion", and thus was not worthy of a reduction in his sentence, he said. The decision to uphold Vanny's jail sentence in full was not explained. Outside, about 200 gathered activists and supporters voiced their disappointment at the verdict. Om Sakhorn, 64, an aunt of Srey Leap, clutched a Cambodian flag as she paced in front of the court. "There is no justice in Cambodia, please let the ICC[International Criminal Court] help Cambodian people to find justice," she said tearfully. Metres away, Nou Chivoan, the 16-year-old son of Nong Sreng, lay on the ground in front of a portrait of his mother. "My mother is not guilty. Please release her," he said. On Friday the 23rd January, departing UN rights envoy Surya Subedi cited the case of the seven Boeung Kak women as one example of "how the courts are being used for political ends" in Cambodia. UPDATE 13 April 2015 Five months behind bars has done nothing to deter Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak activists from taking their demands to the streets. Just one day after their release from the capital's Prey Sar prison, the female activists - often at the helm of Phnom Penh demonstrations - vowed yesterday to continue protesting for "as long as land disputes and social injustices remain". "I will still advocate and peacefully protest to demand solutions and justice for all the victims in Cambodian society, even if I will be imprisoned or killed by the authorities," Boeung Kak leader Tep Vanny told the Post from her home yesterday. Vanny and six other Boeung Kak activists were arrested during a protest in November, and convicted a day later for violating the Traffic Law by using a wooden bed to block the capital's Monivong Boulevard. On the day of the women's trial, another two Boeung Kak women were arrested, along with Phoung Sopheap, a land activist from Phnom Penh's airport community, and Buddhist monk Soeun Hai. The four, who had been protesting outside the courtroom, were also convicted at breakneck speed for "intentionally inciting violence against a public authority". Vanny yesterday expressed her gratitude at the group's release, which was granted under King Norodom Sihamoni's annual Khmer New Year royal pardon following negotiations between Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy. But, she said, they should never have been arrested in the first place. Dismissing claims from the ruling Cambodian People's Party that the women had "accepted their guilt," Vanny said they had in fact been used by the party as pawns in a political power play. "The ruling party arrested and accused us, the land activists, as a pretext to put pressure on the opposition to accept[conditions for] the reformed National Election Committee. But we are not political activists, we are just community land rights protesters," she said. Vanny, like many of the other released activists, spent more than a month in prison in 2012 for obstructing public officials and illegally occupying land in a protest against Boeung Kak developer Shukaku. This time around, she said, life behind bars was even more difficult. "One day, some of our members fainted and were taken to hospital, but the prison guards said they had pretended. Later on, they locked the doors and wouldn't let us outside to get some air, saying we are Boeung Kak women and like inciting violence," she said. Just a week ago, Vanny and two of the other activists hit their heads against the wall until they fell unconscious after being denied any time outside of their cell. The guards had said "if we were furious and wanted to commit suicide, please do", she recalled. Seventy-six-year-old Nget Khun echoed Vanny's complaints. Khun - who is known universally as "Mummy" - said the cell she shared with more than 60 other inmates got unbearably hot. But Prey Sar's months-long water shortage and "dictatorial" guards meant that she could neither get water to cool herself, nor leave to get fresh air. "The food in jail is not enough ... and sleeping is difficult, too; sometimes I slept sitting with my knees upright, and sometimes I slept on the floor," she added. Kong Chantha, another of the released Boeung Kak activists, said guards tried to turn other inmates against them by using them as the reason that all prisoners were being confined in their cells. Kuy Bunsorn, director general of the Interior Ministry's General Department of Prisons, could not be reached yesterday. While the 11 activists were released on Saturday, others believed to be held for political reasons, including opposition activists and monks, are expected to be released following a bail hearing today. Opposition member "Meach Sovannara and other activists including two monks will be released tomorrow after the municipal court opens a hearing about their case," CNRP lawmaker Eng Chhai Eang said in a statement yesterday.