Uwazi

Authorities in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh broke up yet another protest by more than a dozen wives and relatives of jailed opposition activists Friday, less than a week ahead of a scheduled court hearing for more than 100 of the party’s members and representatives of nongovernmental organizations.

Friday’s protest marked the third time family members of detained activists with the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) gathered in front of the Royal Palace, calling on King Norodom Sihamoni to grant clemency to their loved ones—most of whom have been jailed on “incitement” charges after expressing views critical of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s leadership.

The “Friday Wives,” as they are increasingly referred to, have held weekly demonstrations in the capital demanding that they be freed.

However, before the protesters could deliver a petition to representatives of the king, around 50 security personnel from Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district violently dispersed them, pushing them and threatening them with arrest. The authorities also used loudspeakers to denounce local rights groups and the United Nations Human Rights Organization (UNHCR), who they accused—without presenting evidence—of facilitating the protest.

Ouk Chanthy, the wife of CNRP member Yim Sareth, told RFA’s Khmer Service that authorities kicked her in the leg during the confrontation, leaving her unable to walk.

She said it had been eight months since her husband lost his freedom and that she has been protesting in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for his release, insisting that he committed no crime. She added that she has suffered both mentally and physically after being violently dispersed by the authorities during several protests.

Ouk Chanthy said she is very worried about the health of her husband, who suffers from high blood pressure and other ailments.

“I would like to call on national and international organizations, as well as the king, to please help us—we are women!” she said.

“All of us have suffered grave injustice. Since our husbands were incarcerated, the life of each family has deteriorated. Coming out to protest, we never know what we will face. But for the sake of our husbands, for the sake of our families, we must speak out to demand their release.”

Prim Chantha, the wife of CNRP member Kak Komphear, said authorities prohibited her group from shouting on the pretext that it “disturbed the king,” all while the authorities used loudspeakers to disperse people.

“The Phnom Penh Municipality should not have sent district security guards to disperse us violently like this,” she said. “We are women and every day we are like the living dead because they arrested our husbands.”

After being dispersed from the Royal Palace to a stupa in nearby Wat Botum pagoda, the women decided to proceed to the British Embassy to inquire about a past petition calling for London’s intervention. However, the authorities used vehicles and motorbikes to chase them as they walked to the site.

A representative of the embassy told the women that British Ambassador to Cambodia Tina Redshaw was not in her office.

Speaking to RFA, Ny Sokha—a worker with the Cambodian rights group ADHOC—slammed the authorities for their actions on Friday.

“The government, especially state authorities, has failed to guarantee that people enjoy their rights to non-violent protest, in accordance with the principles of human rights,” he said. “We have seen some liberal countries condemn these acts.” Nov. 26 hearing

Friday’s protest comes as the Phnom Penh Municipal Court announced plans to hear cases en masse against more than 100 CNRP members and NGO representatives on Nov. 26.

Political Commentator Meas Nee said the move could indicate that Hun Sen’s government hopes to conclude cases with the opposition and move towards political reconciliation.

Kem Sokha, president of the CNRP, was arrested in September 2017 over an alleged plot to overthrow the government with U.S. help. Cambodia’s Supreme Court banned his party in November that year for its supposed role in the scheme.

The move to dissolve the CNRP marked the beginning of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in the country’s July 2018 general election.

“The move by the court occurs at the same time when there are rumors saying that some CNRP officials who don’t apply for political rehabilitation could be automatically granted such political rights by the government so that they could form a new party,” Meas Nee said.

“But we are still waiting to see whether only subordinate-level CNRP officials could be granted such political rehabilitation, leaving the top leaders of the CNRP to be charged so that the two leaders [Kem Sokha and Acting President Sam Rainsy] are divided.”

Another political commentator, Ly Srey Sros, disagreed, however.

“I see it differently—it may be adding further burdens against CNRP supporters,” she said.

“I don’t see that there will any political reconciliation. I don’t believe that there will be many CNRP members able to attend the hearing on Nov. 26. The court may prolong the cases and move to ruling by convicting all these CNRP members.”

RFA

Two community representatives from Koh Kong province have been placed under judicial supervision as hundreds of community members from Sre Ambel district gathered outside the Koh Kong Court of First Instance to call for the charges against their representatives to be dropped. Both women face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Phav Nherng and Seng Lin had appeared before an investigating judge on charges of defamation and incitement to disturb social security. The women, who will now have to report monthly to district police, appear when summoned by court authorities and will not be able to move house without the court’s permission, represent almost two hundred families who have had hundreds of hectares of vital farmland seized by the Heng Huy Agriculture Group since 2008 to make way for a sugar plantation.

Both representatives were the target of a complaint launched by former community representative Chhay Vy. Vy’s brother, the late commune chief, was accused by the three women in 2019 of having seized land for himself during the unresolved land dispute. Another woman, Khorn Phun, had also been summoned for questioning over defamation charges. However, judicial supervision is not applicable for this charge.

Ten more community representatives have been put under judicial supervision in connection with the Heng Huy land dispute in the past two weeks alone.

Chhay Vy, a former representative of “Community 175,” a group of villagers in a land dispute with the Heng Huy sugar plantation, accused three residents of incitement and defamation over claims that she was working to sell the community’s land.

After a hearing on Wednesday morning, the Koh Kong Provincial Court placed two of the defendants under court supervision, prohibiting them from changing residences and requiring them to check in with district authorities once a month, according to a monitor at rights group Licadho.

About 200 protesters from six communities gathered outside the court for the hearing.

“She stole the land — I have both witnesses and evidence,” said Pao Nherng, from Sre Ambel district’s Chi Khor Krom commune.

A group of villagers filed a complaint about Vy to Interior Minister Sar Kheng last year.

Vy responded on Wednesday that she had not sold any community land, and demanded that her accusers present concrete evidence.

“If I do not see the evidence of what they have accused me of, I want them to pay me $20,000 and go to jail for five years,” Vy told VOD.

The three defendants in the case are Nherng, Sen Lin and Khon Phon. Nherng and Lin were placed under court supervision.

Licadho’s Koh Kong provincial coordinator, Hour In, said all three were questioned by judges on Wednesday.

“It is a threat to break the spirit of the people from protesting,” In said.

The court issued a statement saying that Wednesday’s case was unrelated to land disputes.

However, a separate case involving the same sugar plantation was heard at the court the previous day on Tuesday.

The case was brought by Heng Huy against 10 land disputants, five of whom were placed under court supervision on Tuesday. The five others were put under court supervision last week.

Dek Hour, one of the defendants, said the 10 were also accused of incitement and defamation.

The dispute between villagers and Heng Huy is long-standing, with villagers saying land encroachment started in 2007. Villagers were also summoned to court last year for incitement and defamation.

LICADHO | VOD Hotnews

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted newspaper publisher Ros Sokhet and handed him an 18-month prison sentence on Wednesday, five months after he was arrested for Facebook posts criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Ros Sokhet, the publisher of the “Cheat Khmer” newspaper, was arrested on June 25 for critical Facebook posts about Prime Minister Hun Sen, accusing him of not helping people affected by indebtedness.

Sam Sokong, Ros Sokhet’s lawyer, said the newspaper publisher had been convicted for incitement and sentenced under Article 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code. He was also asked to pay a $500 fine.

“He was sentenced for 18 months in prison and a fine of two million Riel,” Sam Sokong said.

Sam Sokong said Ros Sokhet had asked him to appeal the decision on the grounds that the Facebook posts were his personal opinions and that the conviction affected his freedom of expression.

According to rights groups, Ros Sokhet was arrested for two posts addressing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s succession plans and rising indebtedness among Cambodian households.

Ros Sokhet is the second journalist in the last month to be convicted for incitement, a vaguely-defined charge often used to target detractors and critics of Hun Sen and the Cambodian government. In October, Sovann Rithy, who founded social media news outlet TVFB, was convicted for incitement and given a suspended sentence under Article 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code.

Sovann Rithy was arrested in early April and charged with incitement after he reported comments made by Hun Sen at a National Assembly press conference. The prime minister had said that informal workers, including motorcycle taxi drivers, should sell their vehicles to buy rice because the government could not help them during the COVID-19 economic downturn.

Shortly after, Sovann Rithy posted a photo of a motorcycle driver on Facebook, with the accompanying text: “If the moto-taxi driver is bankrupt, they can sell their moto because the government is unable to help.”

Radio station owner Sok Oudom, who runs Rithysen Radio News Station, was also tried last week for allegedly inciting villagers against the military, in a long-standing dispute in Kampong Chhnang province. Sok Oudom faces similar charges to Sovann Rithy and Ros Sokhet and his verdict is due on November 17.

Rights groups have criticized the Cambodian government for its frequent use of the incitement legal provision to curtail press freedom. Activists say these arrests and convictions send an ominous message to independent news outlets and reporters.

Ith Sothoeuth, media director at the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said the recent conviction of two journalists sends a threatening message to journalists working on controversial stories.

“I think the sustained conviction of journalists can be a threatening signal to other journalists who are doing their work,” he said.

A statement released on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists earlier this month called for an end to attacks on free expression and protection of journalists critical of the Cambodian government.

The statement, released by more than 50 local and international groups, listed at least 13 journalists who have faced court complaints for their news coverage and the revocation of four media licenses during the coronavirus pandemic for the alleged sharing of fake news.

“In the past years, the Cambodian government adopted a series of repressive laws that have enabled a crackdown on independent media and social media and resorted to provisions in the penal code – in particular articles 494 and 495 – to silence critical reporting and its reporters,” read the statement, referring to the criminal code provisions on incitement.

In an ongoing media crackdown that started after the 2017 commune election, independent newspaper The Cambodia Daily was closed for alleged tax violations and The Phnom Penh Post was sold to a Malaysian investor with links to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Also, two former Radio Free Asia reporters were charged with espionage and two former Cambodia Daily reporters are awaiting trial for alleged incitement over a 2017 election story.

VOA Cambodia

Mixed security forces violently broke up a protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh to mark the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, with two former Cambodia National Rescue Party officials being detained on Thursday to prevent their attendance.

The protest was called by senior leadership of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party to mark the 29th anniversary of the Peace Paris Agreement and to protest against China’s potential military presence in Cambodia.

About 30 protestors gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in the capital’s Chamkarmon district, where they were met by dozens of district security guards, uniformed police, and plainclothes security personnel.

“People who protest here with the banners, please leave this area in five minutes,” said an official on a loudspeaker. “If you don’t, we will use administrative measures.”

Protestors continued their protest and called for China to respect the peace agreement and refrain from having a military presence on Cambodian soil. Security personnel then started to drag and carry protestors away from outside the embassy, with these images and videos broadcast on social media platforms.

Three women were dragged onto the back of a flatbed truck used by district guards and another woman was carried away.

The Chinese Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

Former CNRP members were also marking the peace agreement anniversary in different cities across the world, with Prime Minister Hun Sen warning Cambodians not to protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

The protestors were reacting to an increasing number of reports suggesting that Cambodia had allegedly signed a secret deal with China to allow a military presence at two likely locations: Ream Naval Base in Preah Sihanouk province and the Dara Sakor Resort in Koh Kong province.

Am Sam Ath, deputy director at rights group Licadho, said the government’s actions had effectively forbidden people from assembling and expressing their views.

“It has become involved with politics now. It affects the freedom of assembly and peaceful protests,” he said.

On Thursday, two former CNRP members were detained and prevented from participating in the protest outside the Chinese Embassy. Vann Sophat was detained by Tbong Khmum police officials at noon, without a warrant, and questioned till 5 p.m., he said. He was released only after signing an agreement promising to not partake in the protest.

“I just wanted to protest, and not start a coup to topple anyone,” he said. “We want people to understand about the Paris Peace Agreement on October 23.”

Vann Sophat was one of seven former opposition officials who was convicted by Tbong Khmum court last month and given a five-year suspended sentence. They were charged with “plotting” to overthrow the government and the case was linked to Sam Rainsy’s unsuccessful return to Cambodia in November 2019.

His former CNRP colleague, Sou Yean, was also detained by Tbong Khmum police on Thursday and remains in detention, according to his family.

Hong Kim Hoeun, Memot district police chief, said he was on a two-day mission to Preah Sihanouk province and refused to comment on the detention.

Pen Rath, Tbong Khmum provincial police head, and court spokespersons could not be reached for comment on Friday.

In a joint statement, journalists’ association CamboJA and the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, VOD’s parent organization, said at least six journalists had been “intimidated and threatened” at the rally.

They were told to give up their phones, stop shooting live video or had their camera taken away, the statement said.

Journalist Gerry Flynn said he was covering the protest for Thmey Thmey on Friday, and was being pushed back from observing the protesters when a walkie-talkie hit him in the face.

He turned around and an officer yelled at him, he said. A U.N. observer at the scene intervened, and told him that the guard had shouted, “Better watch out because you’re in the land of Cambodians,” Flynn said.

A freelance cameraman he was with also had his lens grabbed, and authorities tried to get into the cameraman’s bag, Flynn added.

Khan Leakhena, a VOD reporter, said she saw a protester fall on the sidewalk, and pulled out her phone to take pictures. A man in civilian clothes approached her, shouting and ordering her to stop shooting, and tried to grab the phone from her, Leakhena said.

Mech Dara, another VOD reporter, said he and several other reporters were repeatedly ordered to stop filming, including a journalist working for Reuters.

An Asia spokesperson for Reuters declined to comment. The Khmer Times has not responded to emailed questions. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also did not respond to questions.

Chanyada, the deputy governor, on Saturday denied knowledge of the incidents and referred questions to the City Hall spokesperson.

City Hall spokesperson Met Measpheakdey said he did not know the details of what happened on Friday and did not answer questions about the deputy governor being personally involved in the harassment.

“Generally, I can say that journalists have the right and ability to take pictures if it doesn’t affect or block authorities from implementing their duties,” Measpheakdey said.

CCIM’s media director, Ith Sothoeuth, said the work of journalists was supposed to be guaranteed under law. “These threats will further pressure and restrict the freedom of journalists in Cambodia.”

Nop Vy, CamboJA’s executive director, said the authorities’ actions were “unacceptable.”

“This is a sign of unacceptable intimidation as journalists were fulfilling their professional work,” said Vy, who was CCIM’s previous media director. “Authorities likely consider journalists to be an important observer who make it difficult for them to crack down on protesters.”

According to the Criminal Code, extortion — the act or attempt to obtain any asset by violence, threat of violence or coercion — is punishable by two to five years in jail.

VOA Cambodia | VOD Hotnews

On 20 October 2020, the Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh denied the bail motion against the detention of three human rights defenders from Mother Nature Cambodia; Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phoung Keorasmey. They were charged with “incitement to commit a felony or social unrest” on 6 September 2020. The charge is based on information they shared on social media about their plans to organise a one-woman march to the Prime Minister’s house to raise environmental concerns over the filling in of the Boeung Tamoke lake in Phnom Penh. The defenders are currently under pre-trial detention at Phnom Penh's Correctional Centres 1 and 2.

Front Line Defenders

Four local online news journalists were attacked on September 28 by a group of men who they say were timber traders seeking revenge after the reporters had singled them out to police for committing forestry crimes.

The group of reporters from PMN news, Chakrapop news and Eysan Post filed a complaint at the Memot district police station in Tbong Khmum province against several suspects who they say threw a log through the window of their car and beat them with sticks and axes, injuring two.

Memot District Police Chief Hong Kim Hoeun confirmed receipt of the journalists’ complaint.

“Yes, we have received it and [we] are working on that case,” he said before declining to comment further.

One victim, Ren Samnang, a reporter at PMN news, said he was asleep in his car along with Muok Saren from Chakrapop news, and Ran Khorn and Teng Norin from Eysan Post news, when the attack occurred.

“I was traveling from Snoul district to Phnom Penh and upon arriving in Memot district, we pulled over to take some rest and fell asleep,” said Samnang, 29.

“We were sleeping [in the car] for about an hour when at about 12:30am, we heard a sound hitting the car,” Samnang said.

Upon realizing that someone had hurled a log through the front driver’s side window, he started the engine and began to drive away.

The group of about five suspects then returned to their truck to chase after the journalists, eventually crashing into their car and running it off the side of the road.

“I jumped out of the car and started to run away,” he said, adding that the log thrown through the window had injured his left rib, and that the timber traders had also smashed off one of the vehicle’s mirrors and dented the exterior.

Samang said he had recognized the attackers and realized the assault was in retaliation to the journalists’ investigation of forest crimes in the area. On September 26, the group had reported an incident of illegal logging to military police in Memot district, which resulted in the officials stopping a truck transporting timber through the area.

He said the journalists were present to report on the case when military police stopped the vehicle, but that the four or five men on board had gotten away.

“[Before running], the driver took a picture and said ‘Either your car will be damaged or we will cause you harm,’” Samnang recalled.

“I think that they wanted to kill us,” he added.

He called on police to take legal action and arrest the suspects so that they would not repeat their crime in the future.

Saren said his leg was slightly injured in the attack, and echoed Samnang’s assertion that the attackers were part of the group of timber traders that they had encountered two days prior.

“They [suspects] came to beat us up without even asking us anything and damaged our car,” he said.

“I think that it is a threat to all journalists not to report [forestry] crimes in the future,” Saren said, emphasizing that the attack would not deter his future work.

Sar Sina, director of the provincial information department said September 29 that his department has already forwarded the case to the Information Ministry.

“Police are working on that case, we have not yet investigated it,” he said, adding that those journalists had filed a complaint with the district police.

“It is a violent act that should not happen to journalists,” Sina said.

Nop Vy, executive director at Cambodian Journalists Alliance (CamboJA), said he was disappointed in the use of violence against the journalists, noting that reporters play an important role in monitoring and preventing illegal acts, including forestry crimes.

“We know that forestry crimes are continuing to happen, and some cases involve local authorities and people who are powerful and rich,” he said.

“It is dangerous and risky for journalists, so I think that local authorities have to take effective legal measures to arrest the culprits,” Vy said, adding that if authorities decline to take legal action, it will encourage the suspects and they may even attack other journalists in the future.

Vy said that the persecution of journalists “is a serious threat to their life and personal safety.”

In a separate case in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district, Kouy Piseth, 24, a reporter for CBN TV Online, died in a traffic accident in the early hour of September 29.

Theng Kosal, Choamchao III commune chief, clarified that the death was caused by a road collision, and was not a murder, as public people had originally suspected.

The victim had driven his motorbike very fast up a hill and had been thrown off, hitting his head on a rock on the ground, Kosal said.

“It is not a murder case, but it was a traffic accident he caused himself,” the commune chief said, explaining that police were initially unsure because the body was found 40 meters away from the victim’s motorbike.

CBN TV Online General Director Chhai Sochet said he had not seen Piseth since the reporter had left the office at about 11:30pm, and that he was saddened to hear of his death.

CamboJA News

Four Koh Kong villagers were detained for about 12 hours after camping outside the provincial hall in a group of about 60 land protesters since Monday, they said.

The group say they are in a 12-year-long dispute with the Union Development Group, or UDG, which has been developing the $3.8-billion Dara Sakor tourism resort in the province. The villagers said they were calling on the provincial administration to act on the case.

Chhay Kimthuch, one of the protesters camping outside the hall, said four villagers had been detained in the dark at about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday after dozens of officers arrived to disperse the encampment.

“The authorities arrived quietly and grabbed [people] in the tents,” she said.

The four villagers, including a village representative, Preab Roatha, were held at Khemara Phoumin city police headquarters until their release around 3 p.m., Kimthuch said.

Saing Puy, from Koh Sdach commune, added that the tents outside the provincial hall were removed and authorities said they would not be allowed to stay there.

“The Koh Kong provincial authority should not have done this to the people,” she said.

Deputy provincial governor Sok Sothy told VOD that there were no arrests; authorities simply took an administrative measure to maintain public order.

The four villagers were “questioned to note down what their real intentions were in coming,” Sothy said.

UDG’s 45,000-hectare overall economic land concession, granted in 2008 and 2011, pushed families to abandon and dismantle more than 1,500 homes on 10,000 hectares of land, according to a 2012 report from the Community Legal Education Center.

Last month, the U.S. sanctioned the Chinese-owned company, alleging it “used Cambodian military forces to intimidate local villagers and to clear out land necessary for UDG to build the Dara Sakor project.” It also suggested that the resort could be converted to host military assets.

Cambodian officials and UDG have denied the claims.

Hour In, provincial coordinator for rights group Licadho, said people who had lost land were being further victimized by the suppression of protests.

“People became victims of losing land, and when they protested, they became victims even more because of the authorities’ actions,” In said.

Provincial governor Mithona Phouthorng said provincial officials and the Land Management Ministry were studying the dispute to clearly identify the people involved and make other clarifications in order to move toward a solution.

VOD English

Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the country to commit to protecting peace as hundreds of land disputants protested in Phnom Penh on Monday, saying that while they remain marginalized, threatened and “in tears,” the people don’t have peace.

Land protesters from the provinces of Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Svay Rieng and Tbong Khmum blocked traffic in front of the Land Management Ministry for at least 20 minutes, with reporters estimating that as many as 1,100 people participated in the demonstration.

About 50 police officers and district security guards prevented the protesters from entering the ministry’s compound, and pushed them to the opposite side of the road. The protesters were later blocked from marching to Hun Sen’s house.

Sam Chamnan, from Tbong Khmum, said people in his village had lost community land to Harmony Win Investment over the past decade. Men Davy, from Svay Rieng, said she represented 152 families locked in a dispute with a Chinese company since 2014. Kan Chhorn, from Koh Kong, said his Sre Ambel district villagers had no land left to farm after 10 years fighting with a sugar plantation.

The villagers chose the International Day of Peace to protest so the government could finally fulfill its promise to bring peace to the country by resolving their disputes, Chamnan said.

But rather than peace, land protesters had been experiencing only arrests and threats, he said. “We have no rights,” Chamnan added.

Davy said it was time for the government to act rather than simply repeat the word “peace.”

“Today, I think Samdech will find a solution for people, in order to make our country have peace as it was promised,” she said, using an honorific for Hun Sen. “We think there’s no peace. There is only peace in their mouths because people are still in tears in all the provinces.” ​

Chhorn said he didn’t want to have to protest. “I am poor. … If I were rich, I wouldn’t come,” he said. “I’m a farmer but I don’t have the land to grow crops.”

City Hall spokesperson Met Measpheakdey said authorities had prevented people from marching to maintain public order and avoid traffic jams.

“They shouldn’t need to gather and disrupt public order” if the aim was simply to submit petitions, he said.

Meanwhile, to mark the International Day of Peace, Hun Sen recalled the country’s past struggles and said only peace could be the foundation for development.

“If we lose peace, we will lose everything. … Commit strongly to protecting the peace that we’ve just achieved,” he said in a letter issued on Saturday. “Endure, be strong and remain intact forever. Do not allow any reactionary force to destroy it at any cost.”

Acknowledging the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hun Sen said his two priorities were maintaining stability in politics and the microfinance sector.

The country’s microfinance debt hit $7.3 billion in June to more than 2 million borrowers, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association, with an average microloan size of $3,804 that researchers have said is the highest in the world.

“The great achievements that Cambodia has achieved have never been applauded or praised by some superpowers and Western countries, which have a specific agenda to use Cambodia as a stepping stone to serve their political ambitions,” Hun Sen continued in his letter.

In a statement issued on Monday while protests were ongoing, the Land Management Ministry said about 800 disputants from Koh Kong had no legal basis for their complaints, rejecting their petition for intervention in disputes with sugar plantations Heng Huy, Koh Kong Plantation and Koh Kong Sugar Industry as well as Chinese-owned tourism resort Union Development Group.

UDG — a massive, $3.8-billion development that spans 45,000 hectares and 20 percent of Cambodia’s coastline — was sanctioned by the U.S. last week over alleged human rights abuses and forced evictions, following accusations that it could be turned into a Chinese military base.

VOD Hotnews

Environmental group Mother Nature’s founder alleges that the advocacy group’s Facebook page was hijacked after authorities arrested three activists earlier this month, one of whom was a page administrator.

Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported in 2015 and blocked from reentering the country, said he realized the group’s Facebook page was compromised on September 4, when he found an email saying he had been removed as a page administrator.

The Spain-based activist said he received the email at 1:20 a.m. in his local time, one day after three Mother Nature activists were arrested while producing a campaign video to call for lake Boeng Tamok’s conservation. Gonzalez-Davidson said he suspected that the activists were threatened or coerced to give authorities the password to the group’s Facebook page.

He sent a request to Facebook to suspend the page temporarily, as well as the personal pages of the three detained activists, Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuong Keorasmey, he said.

“I hope that in two or three weeks, I can manage the Mother Nature pages again,” Gonzalez-Davidson said.

Via a public relations representative in Cambodia, Facebook said it had received a request from a human rights actor to suspend the Mother Nature Cambodia page after some members, including a page administrator, were detained by government security officials. The company said it had secured the page under the same procedures it follows when a page is hacked.

Phnom Penh municipal police spokesperson San Sokseyha said he was not familiar with the specifics of the Mother Nature case, but in general the police would confiscate all evidence related to a case, including technology, and then the court has the “right to investigate” the accused persons’ devices.

Chea Pov, the head of the Interior Ministry’s technology crimes department, did not respond to questions.

Gonzalez-Davidson activist also said he had noticed two pages trying to impersonate Mother Nature Cambodia: a page called Father of Nature Cambodia with 1,447 followers, and another called Mother of Nature Cambodia with 708 followers. Both pages, which were started on June 17 and 18, respectively, have profile pictures stylized like Mother Nature’s logo.

Gonzalez-Davidson called the impersonating accounts “crude,” but he said he is hoping the social media company will remove the accounts. The accounts remained active as of Monday morning, but neither had posted since September 1, when both accounts posted the same four nature photos.

Based on archived links in Google searches, the real advocacy group page had more than 353,000 followers, and Gonzalez-Davidson said in a Facebook post that the group’s videos had been seen more than 20 million times over the past four years.

Among its campaigns, the groups’ sustained criticism of sand mining in Koh Kong province for export preceded Cambodia’s decision to ban sand exports for environmental reasons.

VOD Hotnews

Another activist was arrested in Phnom Penh on Thursday as the U.N., international rights groups and dozens of local civil society organizations condemned the government�s �campaign of fear and repression� against human rights defenders.

Police arrested Muong Sopheak on Sothearos Blvd. in Chamkarmorn district�s Tonle Bassac commune around 3 p.m. by court order for incitement to disturb social security, municipal police spokesperson San Sokseyha said on Friday.

His brother, Muong Sony, said Sopheak had been taken by authorities from outside the minor Khmer Will Party�s headquarters. Sopheak and Sony both belong to the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, two other members of which were arrested last weekend in relation to protests in support of jailed unionist Rong Chhun.

Sopheak�s arrest marks at least 10 activists arrested over the past month amid a series of small street protests, most in support of Chhun. At least four of those detained were members of youth activist group Khmer Thavrak.

Chhun was arrested in late July after alleging that Cambodia was losing territory to Vietnam along their shared border, a controversial and ethnically charged issue.

In a statement on Friday, the U.N.�s human rights office said it had documented the arrests of 24 human rights defenders since Chhun�s arrest, 12 of whom remained in detention.

Several activists also reported being followed and receiving threatening phone calls, including death threats, it said. �Numerous human rights defenders are currently in hiding for fear of being arrested.�

�The current situation marks a deepening of the Government�s intolerance to dissent and repression of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,� it said, calling on the government to release the arrested activists and end the intimidation against civil society actors.

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson also called for the activists� release in a statement on Friday, and urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to �end the de facto ban on critical protests in Phnom Penh.� On Thursday, Amnesty International condemned the arrests as �a shocking, all-out assault on Cambodia�s youth.�

Thirty-nine civil society groups signed a similar statement earlier this week. �We urge the government to end its campaign of fear and repression against peaceful youth and environmental human rights defenders,� they said on Wednesday.

The government�s permanent mission in Geneva this week responded to related criticism from U.N. envoy Rhona Smith.

�Cambodia cherishes freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in line with the law, and is deeply conscious that plurality of voices, including the critical one, matters in the development of the country,� it said in a statement, according to state media outlet Agence Kampuchea Presse. �However, article 31 of the Constitution of Cambodia underscores that exercise of personal rights and freedom by any individual shall not adversely affect rights and freedom of others. The exercise of such rights and freedom shall be in accordance with the law.�

VOD Hotnews

Police have targeted seven unions and associations for a �survey� of employees and their documentation, though a police official said the project has been put on hold for now after investigating two of the groups.

Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA) director Ouk Chhayavy said six officers came to investigate her organization on September 3, questioning her about the scope of its work.

�They should not come to ask because we have already submitted [documents] to the Interior Ministry about what sectors we work in,� Chhayavy said on Tuesday. �The goal of the survey is to threaten associations and unions.�

The government appeared to be cracking down on any group that might lead a protest, she said.

Rong Chhun, a unionist and former president of CITA, was arrested in late July over claims he made in a radio interview about Cambodia losing territory to Vietnam along the border. At least nine youth activists have been arrested since, some for protesting in support of Chhun.

Vorn Pao, president of tuk-tuk drivers union Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), said his organization had been next in line for the survey.

According to Pao and a police document seen by VOD, the seven organizations listed on the survey notice were CITA, IDEA, labor rights group Central, the Cambodian Youth Network, the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, and unions the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union and the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU). CITA and CATU are the only groups that have been surveyed so far, according to Pao and a timetable on the document.

IDEA was scheduled for an inspection on Monday, but local authorities had delayed the survey, Pao said.

�They said they just want to update the number of Cambodian people, foreigners, workers, employees, and check the director�s documents and other personal documentation for the director � and ask each staff [for documentation],� he said.

He said he did not think the survey was legal. �It causes fear, because the political situation is getting more complicated,� he said.

A deputy Meanchey district police chief, listed as a contact on the survey document, said it was the job of authorities to oversee organizations.

�I instructed the local commune police and commune officials to make a report. � Our unit needs to know the structure of the NGOs, including director, deputy director and how many � we are a controlling unit.�

He added that the survey had been suspended, and hung up without giving his name.

Interior Ministry administration department director-general Prak Samoeun could not be reached for comment.

U.N. human rights special rapporteur Rhona Smith said in a Facebook post that she was monitoring the situation.

�I have also been closely following reports that seven different CSOs have been searched or informed of pending visits by the authorities since last week,� Smith said in the post, which also highlighted the arrests of three environmental activists on incitement charges.

VOD Hotnews

Young rapper Kea Sokun, 22, was charged with incitement after his arrest on Friday, Siem Reap Provincial Court spokesperson Yin Srang said.

Sokun�s father Phal Kea, told VOD that Sokun had been arrested in relation to his rap song �Dey Khmer,� or Khmer Land.

The song, posted to YouTube in April, has been watched more than 270,000 times.

�If we run out of land, there is nothing left,� Sokun raps. �Listen to me calmly: Wake up, we are heroes, handcuffed to catch thieves. Destroy the exploiters, put them in jail and lock them up. Take our freedom. Don�t be afraid, do not panic.�

Kea said his son, who dropped out of school in the ninth grade, had written the song himself without any influence from political parties.

He had spoken to his son about the police questioning, which focused on who was behind the song, Kea said.

�He said they only asked about the song, who was behind it � which party do you belong to, and which party does it belong to,� Kea said.

Licadho monitoring manager Am Sam Ath said Sokun�s detention came amid a wave of arrests against young activists that could be considered violations of free expression.

�I don�t think anyone should detain him for the song, because this is a work of art,� Sam Ath said.

VOD Hotnews

A group of four Khmer Thavrak protesters on Monday believed their tuk-tuk was being tailed by police on motorbikes and asked the driver to make random turns before heading to the U.N.�s human rights office for help. After about five hours, including two at the U.N. office hoping they could get refuge, one of the group was finally arrested outside her Chbar Ampov home, according to a member of the group.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sokseyha said on Tuesday that Eng Malai, also known as So Metta, was arrested based on a court order around 6 p.m. Monday in Chbar Ampov district. The court charged Metta with incitement to cause chaos in society, but he did not know if she had been sent to prison.

National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun also confirmed that Metta was arrested yesterday evening and that the arrest was made based on a court order.

Metta was the fourth member of youth activism group Khmer Thavrak to be arrested since mid-August, with the group participating in a wave of protests to release unionist Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested for making comments on the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

The Interior Ministry on Monday called the group�s activities illegal.

When San Sreyneat, a 39-year-old member of Khmer Thavrak, boarded a tuk-tuk with Metta and two other activists on Monday afternoon, she found herself followed by plainclothes officers for half a day leading to Metta�s arrest.

�We could not escape,� she told VOD on Tuesday. �If they want to arrest us, we cannot escape no matter where we go.�

Sreyneat said the group of four hired a tuk-tuk about 1:30 p.m., following Monday�s half-day rally, which was monitored by a crowd of authorities double the size of its protesters. Sreyneat�s group wanted to go home to Chbar Ampov from the Japanese and Chinese Friendship bridges, where protesters dispersed after being blocked by authorities, but she said they were afraid police would follow them home.

�I thought of going back home but when they kept following us, we decided not to go home, because we didn�t want them to know my house and come to disturb us at home,� she said.

Sreyneat said they noticed plainclothes officers were following the tuk-tuk, and activists asked the driver to make random turns in an attempt to throw officers off their tail. She said at least one motorbike followed the tuk-tuk for the entire afternoon, but there appeared to be up to six or seven motorbikes at some moments in their ride.

At one point, one of the four passengers urged the tuk-tuk to stop and asked the officers why they were following them.

The group eventually went to the U.N. human rights office in Chamkarmorn district�s Phsar Doeum Thkov commune, where they spent two hours talking with officials, Sreyneat said.

She said they knew they faced arrest upon leaving and the group asked an official for shelter, but the U.N. official denied the request, saying the development organization wouldn�t want to be accused of colluding with Khmer Thavrak or acting outside its role.

�I asked a U.N. officer to help monitor when we are being followed. I told them that I was being harassed and asked whether I could stay there or not, but they said they couldn�t allow that,� she said.

The U.N. did not respond to a request for comment about the events. Earlier on Monday, its human rights office expressed concern over the reported arrests, and said in an email that they were monitoring developments.

Sreyneat said the group left as the office closed, and when they arrived at the house in Prek Pra commune, Metta was immediately arrested by six plainclothes officers.

�I do not know why they arrested only Metta,� she said. �They think Metta is a leader who is inciting or whatever.�

Sreyneat said she was relatively new to the group, initially just supporting Khmer Thavrak from a distance before joining recent protests. She said she was nervous after being followed and then witnessing her colleague�s arrest, but Sreyneat said it was not enough to deter her.

�I am determined not to panic, and I have persuaded myself to be strong because we have not stolen or robbed anyone. We [campaign] for the nation and only demand justice, freedom and democracy,� she said. �So I have done nothing wrong and if [authorities] think of violating my rights � let them arrest [me] and let them be happy to arrest [me].�

VOD Hotnews

Three activists � including a monk � were arrested over two days at a series of small protests ongoing in Phnom Penh, with the Interior Ministry ordering action against two groups �causing chaos in society.�

In a statement released on Monday, the Interior Ministry accused Khmer Thavrak and Mother Nature of inciting instability and disrupting security and public order.

They were �causing chaos in society using social media and some news media to broadcast articles, leaflets, photos and videos as well as holding demonstrations without legal permission,� the statement said. The groups were not registered as an association or NGO with the ministry, it added.

�The Interior Ministry would like to appeal to people to please not participate in the illegal activities of these groups,� it said, ordering relevant authorities to �take action in accordance with the law to guarantee public order and national security.�

They must prevent �all causes of anarchy and chaos in society as all Cambodian people celebrate Pchum Ben,� it said.

Khmer Thavrak has been engaged in a series of protests since last month, sparked by the arrest of unionist Rong Chhun in late July over comments he made alleging that Cambodia was losing land to Vietnam. In August, Khmer Thavrak attempted to march under the banner of �I Love the Nation,� a celebration of �patriotic heroes� arrested for protecting the country�s borders.

Six of its members were arrested last month after protests held in support of Chhun, and two of them, Chhoeun Daravy and Hun Vannak, have been charged with incitement and are still in jail.

A third member, Tha Lavy, was arrested on Monday.

National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun confirmed the arrests of Lavy, Mean Prummony, and Koet Saray on Sunday and Monday amid protests in Phnom Penh.

Kim Khoeun said they had staged protests without permission and in violation of Covid-19 public health measures, but the reason for the arrests was that they had endangered national security.

�If it did not affect social security, [authorities] would not have made the arrests,� Kim Khoeun said.

�Their arrests are not related to their demonstration � don�t confuse it. It�s different,� he said, but declined to say what the national security concerns were.

Prummony and Saray � members of another group, the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association � were arrested on Sunday, while Lavy was arrested Monday, he said.

About 50 protesters gathered near Freedom Park in Russei Keo district on Monday around 8:30 a.m. They faced barricades and a force of about 100 officers from police, military police and security guards hired by local authorities.

After verbal exchanges and being pushed away from entering the park, the protesters walked to the U.S. Embassy to submit a petition before returning. Failing again to enter Freedom Park, the small protest disbanded around 1:30 p.m.

So Metta, a Khmer Thavrak activist who participated in the demonstration, said the authorities� actions violated their rights.

�Where is our freedom? This is a public place for people,� Metta said.

Muong Sopheak, a young protester, said the goal was to lead nonviolent demonstrations demanding social justice, and the participants had no intention to incite opposition against the state�s authority.

�I came to express myself peacefully,� Sopheak said.

In a statement on Saturday, Khmer Thavrak said it would protest every day until September 15. �The demonstrations we lead are an exercise of the freedoms stated in the Constitution of Cambodia, which is the nation�s top law,� it said.

Cambodian Center for Human Rights director Chak Sopheap, said the space for freedom was dwindling. Politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, unionists and ordinary people were finding it hard to fulfill their work without fear, she said.

�When people are afraid, there will be less accountability, and Cambodian governance will have no checks and balances,� Sopheap said.

The government should listen to people�s concerns and give them the opportunity to express themselves, she said.

One of the two activists arrested on Sunday, Saray, was a monk and therefore defrocked at Wat Botum ahead of his arrest, said Khim Sorn, Phnom Penh�s chief monk.

Monks may not hold demonstrations, Sorn said.

�When asked, he said holding demonstrations was his principle, and he has to do it, so we need to let him leave the monkhood to become an ordinary person,� he said.

Meanwhile, three activists from Mother Nature, an environment group, were arrested on Thursday amid plans to raise awareness around the conservation of Boeng Tamok, one of the capital�s �last lakes.�

VOD Hotnews

On 6 and 7 September 2020, three human rights defenders and members of Khmer Thavarak,Koet Saray, Tha Lavy and Eng Malai were arrested by police in Phnom Penh, for planning to takepart in a peaceful demonstration to ask for the release of several imprisoned human rightsdefenders. The three defenders have since been appeared in court,charged with �incitement tocommit a felony or cause social unrest� and moved to Phnom Penh Correctional Centres (CC) 1and 2.Khmer Thavarak is a youth group that was set up in early 2020. The movement advocates againstsocial injustices and raises concerns about pressing environmental issues in Cambodia. They havebeen at the forefront of raising human rights concerns in the country, and have also been reachingout to large audiences through their social media platforms to educate and raise awareness onvarious social issues.On 6 September 2020, Phnom Penh police arrested human rights defender and Buddhist monk,Koet Saray over his plans to participate in a peaceful assembly that was to take place on 7September 2020 at the Freedom Park in Phnom Penh. The demonstration was to call for therelease of imprisoned human rights defender Rong Chhun, and to call for the release of imprisonedmembers of Khmer Thavarak, Hun Vannak and Chhoeun Daravy. Koet Saray was presentedbefore the Phnom Penh court on the same day, where he was charged with �incitement to commita felony or cause social unrest� and later sent to pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh�s CC 1.The following day, on 7 September 2020, two other members of Khmer Thavarak were arrested byPhnom Penh police. Human rights defender Tha Lavy was arrested while exiting a tuk-tuk at theFreedom Park, while he was on his way to the demonstration. Woman human rights defender, EngMalai was arrested on the same evening, after leaving the local Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh. On 8 September 2020, both defenders werepresented before the Phnom Penh Court, where they were charged with �incitement to commit afelony or cause social unrest� and sent to pre-trial detention, Eng Malai in CC2, and Tha Lavy inCC1.These events closely follow the arrest of three environmental rights defenders, Long Kunthea,Phoung Keorasmey and Thun Ratha of Mother Nature Cambodia, who were also charged withincitement, for planning to organise a one-woman march to the Prime Minister�s residence to raiseawareness about the filling in the Boeung Tamok lake.Following the initial arrest on Monday, the Ministry of Interior released a statement accusing KhmerThavarak of inciting instability and disrupting security and public order, and appealed to the publicto not participate in any of the youth movement�s �illegal� activities. The Ministry called for legalFront Line Defenders is deeply concerned by the progressively hostile environment for humanrights defenders in Cambodia. Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of human rightsdefenders, Koet Saray, Tha Lavy and woman human rights defender, Eng Malai, as it believes theyare being targeted for their legitimate and peaceful work for the protection of human rights.

Front Line Defenders

Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio�s peaceful activism calling attention to the government�s filling in of Phnom Penh�s Boeung Tamok lake.

The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman � are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.

They were arrested on Friday, interviewed by the prosecutor and investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over the weekend and charged on Sunday with �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between six months and two years as well as a fine of up to 4 million riel. Ratha was sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 1, and Kunthea and Keorasmey were sent to Correctional Centre 2.

In a separate case, authorities on Sunday also arrested two members of the Active Citizens for Justice youth movement, which had organised a gathering at Freedom Park next week to call for the release of imprisoned union leader Rong Chhun.

Venerable Koet Saray, an ordained Buddhist monk, and Mean Prommony, the vice-president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, were arrested in Phnom Penh over their plans to gather at Phnom Penh�s Freedom Park and call for the release of union leader Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested in late July and charged with incitement over remarks he made to a radio station about the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

Phnom Penh Municipal Hall had previously issued a statement prohibiting the planned gathering, claiming organisers would not be able to control the number of attendees and accusing them of �inciting� members of the public to protest. The Active Citizens for Justice announced on Saturday that they would go forward with their planned gathering between September 7 and September 15.

With the arrest of Venerable Koet Saray and Mean Prommony, a total of eight people have been arrested for organising or participating in peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of Rong Chhun. More than 142 civil society groups have called on the government to release Chhun and drop all charges against him.

LICADHO

Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio�s peaceful activism calling attention to the government�s filling in of Phnom Penh�s Boeung Tamok lake.

The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman � are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.

They were arrested on Friday, interviewed by the prosecutor and investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court over the weekend and charged on Sunday with �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between six months and two years as well as a fine of up to 4 million riel. Ratha was sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 1, and Kunthea and Keorasmey were sent to Correctional Centre 2.

In a separate case, authorities on Sunday also arrested two members of the Active Citizens for Justice youth movement, which had organised a gathering at Freedom Park next week to call for the release of imprisoned union leader Rong Chhun.

Venerable Koet Saray, an ordained Buddhist monk, and Mean Prommony, the vice-president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association, were arrested in Phnom Penh over their plans to gather at Phnom Penh�s Freedom Park and call for the release of union leader Rong Chhun. Chhun was arrested in late July and charged with incitement over remarks he made to a radio station about the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

Phnom Penh Municipal Hall had previously issued a statement prohibiting the planned gathering, claiming organisers would not be able to control the number of attendees and accusing them of �inciting� members of the public to protest. The Active Citizens for Justice announced on Saturday that they would go forward with their planned gathering between September 7 and September 15.

With the arrest of Venerable Koet Saray and Mean Prommony, a total of eight people have been arrested for organising or participating in peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of Rong Chhun. More than 142 civil society groups have called on the government to release Chhun and drop all charges against him.

LICADHO

A 49-year-old woman was rushed to hospital this morning after being hurled to the ground by district security guards while peacefully calling for the release of her imprisoned husband.

[Woman assaulted by Prampi Makara district security force] Play this video Woman assaulted by Prampi Makara district security force

Seng Chanthorn, the wife of former Kampong Thom provincial council member and Cambodian Independent Teachers� Association unionist Sun Thon, was blocked by Prampi Makara security guards from publicly demonstrating outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday morning alongside a group of wives and relatives of members of the forcibly dissolved opposition party. As a number of security guards grappled with the women, one guard violently threw Chanthorn to the road. She was taken to Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital for treatment and further tests.

Chanthorn�s husband was imprisoned in early June on charges of conspiracy, incitement to commit a felony and inciting military personnel to disobedience. Some of the charges relate to actions allegedly committed as far back as July 2018.

Since early June, family of the imprisoned former opposition members have been dragged, kicked and assaulted during the course of peaceful demonstrations calling for their release. 23 former members of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party remain behind bars.

LICADHO

Members of the environmental group Mother Nature spent Thursday trying to trace the whereabouts of three of its prominent activists, who were arrested by Phnom Penh police in the middle of producing the group�s latest campaign video.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sokseyha confirmed Thursday afternoon that Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuong Keorasmey had been arrested and detained for questioning. Ratha faced questions over broadcasting without permission from his house, while Kunthea and Keorasmey were arrested for posting news about Boeng Tamok lake, the spokesperson said.

�Our Chbar Ampov police questioned them related to the post that can be seen on the Mother Nature Cambodia page,� he said. �They posted news about the filling up of the lake and so on and they broadcasted and planned to meet leaders at home.�

On Tuesday, Mother Nature�s Facebook page posted that Kunthea planned to march by herself from Wat Phnom to Hun Sen�s house next to Independence Monument from 11 a.m. on Thursday. She wanted to express to the premier her concerns over filling and construction in Tamok lake, one of the last substantial wetlands in Phnom Penh.

Mother Nature founder Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported in 2015 and has been consistently denied re-entry to Cambodia, told VOD he was coordinating with the activists from his home in Barcelona.

He said the group was still trying to piece together details of Kunthea and Keorasmey�s arrest.

The three activists had planned to keep the demonstration to one person in order to avoid causing disruptions to traffic and drawing crowds, either of which might have been considered a disturbance of public order, Gonzalez-Davidson said.

Kunthea, dressed in white, was to walk the route to Hun Sen�s central Phnom Penh estate on her own, with Keorasmey streaming from her phone for the group�s live social media show. Ratha would be broadcasting from a simple studio set up in his home, Gonzalez-Davidson said.

But by the end of the day, all three were in police custody.

Gonzalez-Davidson said he did not know how Kunthea and Keorasmey were arrested, but he had found out that the two women were being held for questioning at the Chbar Ampov district police station.

�You�re sending 20-year-old girls to jail for wanting to meet the prime minister � they�re not even protesting,� he said.

Ratha was arrested at his home in Pur Senchey district�s Choam Chao I commune, he said. Though he was unsure whether officials confiscated any equipment from Ratha, officials left a handwritten, thumb-printed note on the door, saying that the house was closed by authorities for broadcasting news without permission.

�I�ve never seen anything like this,� Gonzalez-Davidson said. �No journalist or activist has been arrested for saying they plan to post things on Facebook.�

The note taped against the house was signed by deputy municipal police chief Bun Soksekha, deputy chief of the municipal information department Chheang Buntha, Phnom Penh municipal court deputy prosecutor Kuch Kimlong and other officials.

Information Ministry spokesperson Meas Sophorn said the ministry had received information about the three arrests, but he declined to give any details, saying authorities were processing the case.

�The ministry has no additional comment on this work since the case is in the procedure of the authorities, and the ministry will continue to follow this case,� he said.

Authorities have taken strict measures against youth protesters in recent months, most recently arresting four activists who were prominent in demonstrations calling for the release of unionist Rong Chhun. Authorities have also thwarted a bicycle tour and a photo exhibition to raise awareness about the conservation of Koh Kong Krao island, as well as memorials and marches for murdered political analyst Kem Ley.

There were not many people left who were willing to voice their criticisms of the government, Gonzalez-Davidson said, but he felt that the arrests were stirring anger among the general public.

�The status quo is changing,� Gonzalez-Davidson said. �Cambodia is becoming more and more of a Stalinist [government], very similar to Laos and approaching North Korea territory in terms of jailing people for posting on Facebook. But that doesn�t mean we will stop talking about it.�

Pat Rasmey, the wife of Ratha, said she believed her spouse�s arrest was due to his social work, and she would make her voice heard too.

�He dares to speak straightforwardly on the current social issues,� she said. �If they do not release my husband, I will protest the next day.�

VOD Hotnews

Authorities in Cambodia have arrested a second rapper on charges of “incitement” in days, a court official in the country’s Siem Reap province said Tuesday, after he released songs suggesting that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s lack of leadership had led to economic decline.

Long Puthera, who penned the track “Wipe Your Tears and Continue Your Journey, Khmer Eyes,” was arrested “late last week” and jailed on charges of “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest” under Article 495 of Cambodia’s Penal Code, Siem Reap Provincial Court spokesperson Chhuon Sopanha told RFA’s Khmer Service.

“The judge ordered him detained on charges of incitement,” he said. “The accused has the right to an attorney.”

The rapper had regularly posted songs on his YouTube page under the name Thxera-Kampuchea and had thousands of followers.

Long Puthera’s acquaintances told RFA that they had been unable to contact his family members since his arrest, as they live in a different province.

The young musician is also friends with fellow rapper Kea Sokun, known for his song “Khmer Land,” which touched a political third rail by criticizing the Cambodian government’s handling of its border dispute with Vietnam.

Kea Sokun was arrested Sept. 4 in Siem Reap province and also charged with incitement after authorities booked his wedding photography business for a pre-wedding photo shoot and took him into custody when he arrived, his brother Chheang Chhat told RFA last week.

Chan Chamroeun, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA Tuesday that his organization is investigating the two cases and working to provide lawyers to defend the pair of rappers.

He said that the two young men had simply sang songs reflective of current Cambodian social issues and had not breached any laws.

“The authorities should have allowed for their freedom of expression—this freedom is important because it helps the government understand the concerns of the public,” he said.

“The authorities should allow for constructive criticism so that the government can identify loopholes in the system and fix them.”

Wave of arrests

Last week, amid an ongoing wave of arrests of voices critical of Hun Sen’s leadership, Rhona Smith, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Cambodia, wrote in a Facebook post that “the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly are protected by international human rights norms and standards as well as by the Cambodian Constitution.”

She urged authorities to ensure that those arrested are promptly tried and that their due process rights be fully respected.

On Friday the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said it had documented the arrest of 24 human rights campaigners since popular labor leader Rong Chhun, the president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, was taken into custody July 31, including eight in September alone.

While 13 were released after pledging to refrain from further rights activities, 12 remain in detention—most of whom face charges of “incitement to commit felony,” including three environmental activists.

The wave of arrests come three years after opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Kem Sokha’s September 2017 arrest over an alleged plot to overthrow the government with the help of Washington. Cambodia’s Supreme Court banned his party in November that year for its supposed role in the scheme.

The move to dissolve the CNRP marked the beginning of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the country’s July 2018 general election.

RFA

Protesters calling for the release of jailed unionist Rong Chhun were prevented by authorities from marching toward the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh on Monday, just days after Japan’s foreign minister met with top Cambodian officials in the capital.

Before the group of about 30 union members, relatives of Chhun and youth activists were stopped, the demonstrators had submitted a petition to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights office in Phnom Penh seeking intervention in the case of Chhun.

The president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions was detained about three weeks ago on a charge of incitement to commit a felony over his comments about border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Em Bunnarith, a unionist who worked alongside Chhun, said the group abandoned its attempt to deliver a petition at Japan’s embassy on Monday because they did not want additional trouble with authorities.

“This obstruction gives a bad image, and an image of the decline of respect for human rights, showing the international community that our Cambodia’s democracy really dropped below zero,” Bunnarith said.

Chhun was arrested late on July 31 and provisionally jailed the following day in relation to statements he made on the alleged loss of Cambodian territory to Vietnam, which officials have denied and called “fake news.” His arrest has triggered a spate of demonstrations, with youth activists arrested and injured during protests before last week’s rescheduled Khmer New Year holiday.

Chamkarmorn district deputy governor Keo Samnang, who led the district authorities’ effort to halt the protesters on Monday, said demonstrators were not banned from submitting a petition to the embassy, but authorities stopped the march because it disturbed public order.

“We wanted them to take tuk-tuks in order to avoid [disturbing] public order and [causing] traffic jams,” he said. “We requested them to take tuk-tuks only.”

Long Rim, a Phnom Penh schoolteacher who joined the march, said he hoped to see Chhun released, adding that he supported the unionist’s activism related to Vietnam border issues and his concern for workers and teachers.

“The government and some civil servants already said that we are a country with the rule of law,” Rim said. “[So] why did [authorities] come to arrest Rong Chhun at night like that? It is an immoral act that we cannot accept.”

The group’s petition said that Chhun’s arrest was unjust because he had been merely expressing concerns over the border, adding that he served as an internationally-recognized union leader.

“We all hope that his excellency and her excellency, and all democratic countries will intervene for the release of Rong Chhun immediately and without conditions,” the petition states.

Bunnarith, Chhun’s colleague, said similar petitions had been submitted to the embassies of the U.S., France and the E.U. The group also appealed in their petition to diplomatic representatives of Germany, the U.K. and Thailand, as well as the International Labor Organization.

In 2018, Japan was among a few countries that declined to send election monitors to Cambodia after the Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition CNRP the year prior, a move that some nations called democratic backsliding.

Japan continues to support Cambodia with new health and social development aid, and has not taken measures to sanction the government or Prime Minister Hun Sen’s close associates as the E.U. and U.S. have.

President of the outlawed CNRP Kem Sokha met with Japanese Ambassador Masahiro Mikami in May, along with a range of other nations’ ambassadors in recent months.

During his first visit to Cambodia on Friday and Saturday, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu praised cooperation between the two countries in the fields of politics, health care, the economy, security and culture in a post on the Japanese Embassy’s Facebook page.

He did not directly address the arrests of Chhun or other activists amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but said that Japan would continue to support Cambodia’s democratic development, adding that youth were a pillar to this process.

In a statement on Thursday, Human Rights Watch urged Motegi to raise the issue of rights abuses while visiting Cambodia, and “express grave concerns about harassment, intimidation, physical attacks, and arbitrary arrests against the country’s union leaders, land rights activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and the political opposition.”

Before Motegi’s arrival, Justice Ministry spokesperson Chin Malin welcomed the foreign minister in a Facebook post, saying that the Japanese government focused on development and respected other countries’ sovereignty.

“So, any group trying to ask Japan to put pressure and interfere in the internal affairs of Cambodia, a sovereign state, will inevitably suffer embarrassing failures,” Malin said.

VOD Hotnews

The Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court decision to arrest and jail unionist Rong Chhun over his claims that Cambodia had ceded land to Vietnam, denying him release on bail as his supporters continued to rally outside the court.

Chhun, the president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and a representative of the border-focused advocacy group Cambodia Watchdog Council, was arrested on the evening of July 31, then charged with incitement to commit a felony and detained the next day over his statements about border markers between Tbong Khmum province and Vietnam.

Speaking to reporters after the closed-door hearing, defense lawyer Chuong Choungy said Appeal Court Judge Khun Leang Meng rejected Chhun’s bail request and petition against his provisional detention sentence.

Choungy said the judge claimed the imprisonment was to prevent Chhun from committing further offenses and to ensure the accused followed court procedures, which Choungy called a violation of his client’s freedoms.

The attorney also questioned the legality of Chhun’s nighttime arrest.

“[We] lawyers think that authorities violated the law, so that’s why [we] appealed this imprisonment,” he told reporters.

Choungy said his client had posted on social media last month after visiting border markers 114 and 119 in Tbong Khmum, saying that Chhun wanted to know the truth about the area and urge the government to prevent Vietnam from encroaching on Cambodian territory at the border — long an incendiary political issue.

“Authorities based [the charge] on a post on social media and accused him, and he claimed that what he did is for the benefit of society and for [national] territory,” he said. “Rong Chhun said he did not incite to cause chaos.”

But officials have denied Chhun’s claims that Cambodians have lost land at the border to Vietnam, and called his statements “fake news.”

During the hearing, about 50 people, including Chhun’s relatives and youth activists, gathered outside the court, holding pictures of Chhun and other detained activists to demand their release.

Chhun’s arrest has sparked several protests near the Phnom Penh Municipal Court this month, which culminated in the arrests of youth activists, including Hun Vannak and Chhoeun Daravy, as well as Khmer Win Party president Suong Sophorn after he too commented on border issues.

Long Rim, a teacher who joined Wednesday’s protests, echoed statements from Chhun’s lawyer, saying he felt the union leader’s comments were intended to improve society and his imprisonment was unjust.

“I do not think that what he did was a mistake [worth] being charged, being punished and being persecuted,” Rim said. “So I cannot be silent. I have to participate. I have to demand [the court] to drop all charges and let him be free.”

During a speech earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that anyone who continued to criticize the government’s actions at the Vietnam border, and claimed demarcation was resulting in Cambodia losing land to its neighbor, would be arrested.

On Tuesday, the premier tasked the government’s Joint Border Committee to visit Cambodians in Tbong Khmum who claimed to have lost their land to Vietnam due to border demarcation, and potentially hold a seminar to explain border issues to anyone concerned.

VOD Hotnews

Six youth activists have been rounded up and arrested hours after rallying for detained unionist Rong Chhun, including a young woman dragged by her hair into a vehicle from outside a cafe.

So Metta, an activist who requested to use a pseudonym, told VOD that a group of about 10 officers � some of whom were plain-clothed and some in Prampi Makara district guard uniforms � grabbed one of the six, Chhoeun Daravy, around 4 p.m. on Thursday outside an Amazon coffee shop near the court.

Daravy had been sitting with about 10 people when the plain-clothed officers dragged her by the hair from behind and pushed her into a black Lexus SUV waiting outside, Metta said. The officers beat Daravy as they put her in the car, she said.

�They grabbed her hair and beat her up,� said Metta. �The authorities beat � people without mercy.�

Reached again Thursday evening, Metta said another of those arrested, Hun Vannak, had returned to the rented house where some of the activists were staying after Daravy had been arrested. Vannak recorded a live Facebook video while police surrounded the house, she said.

Metta said five of the six activists arrested were members of Khmer Thavrak, which translates to �Khmer Strong,� a youth group that has been central to many of the recent protests against the detention of Chhun, as well as environmental and social causes.

Municipal police chief Sar Thet said the six youth activists arrested on Thursday included three men and three women, five of whom were arrested at a rented house in Pur Senchey district.

�One was arrested based on the court�s order while others were based on red-handed crimes because they went and caused disorder and insecurity,� Thet said, adding that the activists remained in municipal police custody.

He earlier said that Daravy had been arrested for incitement to disturb social security based on a court-ordered arrest warrant, and officers were searching her house for evidence.

She was currently in the hands of municipal police and would be sent to the court for prosecution, he added. The incitement charge carries a potential jail sentence of up to two years.

Naly Pilorge, a spokesperson for human rights group Licadho, confirmed protesters Chhoeun Daravy, Hun Vannak and Heang Hai were among those arrested.

The arrests came after authorities and protesters again clashed outside the municipal court as Chhun, the union leader, was questioned inside over charges of incitement.

About 50 protesters, including members of Chhun�s family, had gathered in the morning outside City Mall, near the court, holding banners and wearing T-shirts with Chhun�s image.

At around 9:30 a.m., about 50 officers, including Prampi Makara district guards, advanced on the protesters to move them away from the corner. For about 10 minutes the guards were seen beating and kicking protesters who refused to leave.

Chea Kunthin, one of the protesters who said she was injured during a rally last week, was treated by a doctor after the demonstration at the office of Licadho, which was monitoring the protest, Pilorge said.

Pilorge declined to describe Kunthin�s injury, citing medical confidentiality rules, but said the woman left Licadho�s office on Thursday afternoon. Later, Pilorge said the organization could not reach Kunthin, but could not confirm if she was among those arrested.

Chhun, a prominent unionist and former head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, was arrested two weeks ago in relation to statements he made on U.S.-run Radio Free Asia that Cambodia was ceding hundreds of hectares to Vietnam as part of border demarcations � a topic that has long been a lightning rod for ethnically charged opposition fervor. Government officials said Chhun�s claim was false, and the courts charged him with incitement to commit a felony.

His arrest sparked ongoing protests and criticism from rights groups. In response, City Hall on August 3 announced a ban on gatherings outside the court for reasons related to public order, traffic and Covid-19.

Kunthin, who is a member of Khmer Thavrak, said earlier on Thursday that she had suffered bruises in the clash.

�We didn�t do anything against the law,� Kunthin said. �Why do they use violence against us again and again? It�s shameful that the authorities don�t love the people, and use violence against them.�

Another protester, Yin Moliny, said the demonstration had been peaceful.

�I had no intention to clash with the security guards � but they came and pushed us. So what can I do as an innocent person? We did not fight back. Where is the law?� Moliny said. �They came here to mistreat people, not to protect people. They get a salary from the people and they mistreat the people. It�s unacceptable.�

Prampi Makara district governor Lim Sophea could not be reached for comment.

Four opposition activists were also arrested last week after participating in protests calling for Chhun�s release.

Sam Sokong, Chhun�s lawyer, said the court had questioned the unionist on Thursday morning about why he had been investigating the border issue. Chhun had told the court that he had merely interviewed witnesses, and he did not intend to cause trouble in society, Sokong said.

�Patriotic� Protest

A day earlier on Wednesday, about 20 protesters, including members of Khmer Thavrak, briefly marched in Phnom Penh holding Cambodian flags and wearing T-shirts proclaiming �I Love the Nation.�

They started at Boeung Keng Kang district�s Olympic market under the watch of about 100 security officers. They were stopped around 11 a.m. between the market and Wat Moha Montrei, less than 500 meters away, as guards shouted at the protesters, blocked their path and took their flags.

A protester, Tha Lavy, said the march was about supporting �patriotic heroes� arrested trying to protect the national border.

�When they arrested those who demonstrated patriotism in protecting the national border, our people did not concern themselves with the national problem, and let powerful people use their power to arrest our patriotic heroes,� Lavy said. �We cannot accept it, and want to spread a message for people to love our nation.�

Vannak, another of those arrested on Thursday and also a member of Khmer Thavrak, said on Wednesday that the group was turning its protests about Chhun�s release into a campaign for Cambodians to care more about their country.

�Most people are not very patriotic yet compared to other countries,� Vannak said. �So we have changed our plan from [only] demanding the release of Mr. Rong Chhun into a campaign to encourage Cambodians to love their nation more, think of common interests, think of heroes who sacrificed their lives, who sacrificed their time for our common interests.�

City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey told VOD on Wednesday that authorities had blocked the march because the protesters had not sought permission beforehand.

�They gathered and marched and did things that were not in accordance with legal principles that require them to do better than this,� he said.

VOD Hotnews

Authorities and protesters clashed outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday as a group of about 20 demonstrators � at least two of whom were injured � called for the release of jailed union leader Rong Chhun.

Security guards stopped a group of protesters from approaching the court, where officers blocked the sidewalk on the other side of the street to prevent protests following a judge�s order on Saturday to detain Chhun on incitement charges in Phnom Penh�s Prey Sar prison.

As the protesters marched away from the court along Sihanouk Boulevard, a group of about 10 uniformed security guards forcefully tried to surround them and stop their movement, a VOD reporter observed. Guards were seen pushing, dragging and kicking protesters, with some demonstrators resisting, and two individuals said they received minor injuries.

University student Chea Kunthin, 18, said she was injured on her arm and leg when she was kicked by guards, and urged the international community to respond.

�[Security guards] get salaries from the people, [so they need] to serve the people, but they instead used their authority to beat people and beat young girls,� she said. �I have just become an adult but got three or four kicks [for protesting].�

So Metta, a protester from youth group Khmer Thavrak, said she was also kicked and stomped on by guards, and was disappointed that authorities responded with such force against a peaceful protest for Chhun�s release.

�We held a peaceful [march] and we did not cause any violence, but authorities tried to push and abuse us women,� said the 31-year-old coffee seller. �They dragged, kicked, and they seriously violated our rights. I would like to condemn the authorities. I cannot accept this.�

Chhun was arrested on Friday night last week on incitement charges in relation to comments he made on the alleged loss of Cambodian territory to Vietnam, which officials have denied and called �fake news.� Since his detention, protesters have tried to gather in front of the courthouse, though both City Hall and the Justice Ministry issued statements on Monday calling unpermitted gatherings and demonstrations illegal.

Prampi Makara district governor Lim Sophea could not be reached on Wednesday while City Hall spokesperson Met Measpheakdey declined to comment, saying he was in a meeting.

Ny Sokha, from human rights group Adhoc, said authorities were violating protesters� constitutionally-guaranteed rights by using violence against a crowd that was peacefully voicing dissent.

�Meeting, gathering and holding a peaceful demonstration are all freedoms that are stated in the law,� he said. �If people using their rights were restricted and abused, we think that it is a kind of serious human rights violation for a democratic country like our Cambodia.�

VOD Hotnews

A group of police officers showed up at the home of detained Cambodian union leader Rong Chhun on Tuesday demanding to speak with members of his family, according to his nephew, who accused authorities of harassment in retaliation for his uncle�s criticism of the government.

Rong Chhun was officially charged with �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Article 495 of Cambodia�s Penal Code and jailed at Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh Saturday, a day after his arrest for claiming the government has allowed Vietnam to encroach on farmland along their shared border.

The arrest and formal charging of the outspoken president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) and former member of the country�s National Election Committee (NEC) prompted protests over the weekend and again on Monday in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, where he faces two years in prison if convicted.

On Tuesday, Rong Chhun�s nephew, Rong Vichea, told RFA�s Khmer Service that a group of some 10 police officers arrived at the family home in the capital and insisted that they question the union leader�s relatives.

�They also asked for the identity of anyone who had come in or out of our house,� he said, adding that while police did not verbally threaten them, �their appearance made us feel intimidated.�

�Please, NGOs, help facilitate uncle Rong Chhun�s release and get him justice.�

Rong Vichea said he had traveled to Prey Sar Prison to visit Rong Chhun, who asked to convey his gratitude to his supporters.

�He said, �don�t be intimidated, stay strong, and continue to fight for social justice,�� Rong Vichea said.

On July 20, Rong Chhun�a member of the Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC) umbrella NGO of unions representing teachers, workers, farmers, and students�had visited Trapeang Phlong commune, in Tbong Khmum province�s Ponhea Kraek district, where Cambodians claimed recently placed border posts had caused them to lose land to neighboring Vietnam.

The following day, he issued a statement on behalf of the CWC in which he cited irregularities with the placement of border posts 114 to 119 that resulted in the loss of �hundreds of hectares� (one hectare = 2.5 acres) of ancestral land belonging to area farmers.

On Friday, Cambodia�s official Cambodia Border Committee rejected Rong Chhun�s claims that any farmers had lost land, saying his organization had disseminated �fake news� based on �groundless accusations.�

The CWC says that farmers are losing land because Cambodia is demarcating the border based on a 1985 treaty from Vietnam�s 1979-89 occupation of the country following its ouster of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Unresolved border issues between Cambodia and Vietnam, former French colonies from the 1860s to 1954, have sparked incidents in the past, with the construction by Vietnam of military posts in contested areas quickly challenged by Cambodian authorities in Phnom Penh.

A joint communique signed by Cambodia and Vietnam in 1995 stipulates that neither side can make any changes to border markers or allow cross-border cultivation or settlement pending the resolution of outstanding border issues.

Threat to Hun Sen

Rong Chhun has been arrested twice before�once in October 2005 over comments he made about a border agreement with Vietnam, which led to a three-month stint in prison, and again in January 2014 while calling for the release of demonstrators detained during protests over the 2013 national election.

He last week had joined a group of more than 200 garment workers who gathered to submit a petition outside the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen to ask for his help following their factory�s closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts say Rong Chhun posed a threat to Hun Sen because of his recent activities, which included writing to the prime minister last month calling on the government to proactively address issues that the European Union has said prompted it to end a preferential trade scheme with Cambodia.

The EU in mid-February announced plans to suspend tariff-free access to its market under the �Everything But Arms� (EBA) scheme for around one-fifth of Cambodia�s exports, citing rollbacks on democracy and human rights�a move that would reinstate tariffs on garments and footwear beginning Aug. 12, unless it is overturned by the bloc�s governments or its parliament.

Hun Sen has said that EU demands to maintain the EBA are unreasonable and an encroachment on Cambodia�s internal affairs.

Rong Chhun has also drawn praise for giving up a position of power with the NEC to return to leading the CCU after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November 2017 for its role in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

The move to dissolve the CNRP was part of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People�s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the country�s July 2018 general election.

Fresh calls for release

Reports of police intimidation against Rong Chhun�s family came as observers continued to excoriate Cambodia�s government over the union leader�s arrest and demand his release.

His case also received attention from Washington which, in a statement delivered to RFA by the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, said it is �closely following� the situation.

�We have consistently raised concerns with the Cambodian government about taking meaningful steps to reopen the political and civic space,� said Chad Roedemeier, the embassy�s spokesperson.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a strongly worded statement demanding that authorities immediately drop charges and release Rong Chun.

Phil Robertson, HRW�s deputy Asia director, said the union leader�s charges appear to be linked to his recent advocacy for the land rights of villagers living near the border with Vietnam, as well as other activities.

�The arrest of Rong Chhun is the latest example of unrelenting government repression against activists trying to protect ordinary Cambodians� basic rights,� he said.

�The European Union should add this outrage to the long list of rights abuses that need to be resolved in negotiations over �Everything But Arms� trade preferences.�

HRW noted that in recent years, Cambodia�s government has increased its harassment of independent union leaders and labor advocates, including through the 2016 Trade Union Law that the group said has severely curtailed the ability of unions to register, bargain collectively, and represent workers.

�Prime Minister Hun Sen should stop muzzling labor unionists, human rights defenders, and other critics of government policies,� Robertson said.

�Foreign governments should publicly raise the plight of Rong Chhun and jointly appeal to the Cambodian government to put an end to this onslaught on human rights.�

�A blatant attack�

The growing chorus of voices calling for Rong Chhun�s release was also joined Tuesday by the Global Union Federations, a consortium of global labor organizations which noted in a statement that the former president of the Cambodian Teachers� Association �has always been at the forefront of struggles for the protection of workers� rights.�

The groups called Rong Chhun�s arrest amid his trade union activities and criticisms of Cambodia�s handling of the coronavirus pandemic �a blatant attack by the government� on freedoms of expression and association.

They urged the government to follow recommendations by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, including ending harassment of civil society organizations, and allowing peaceful demonstrations and stopping excessive use of force by police monitoring such gatherings.

They also called for several recently passed laws that restrict political parties, nongovernmental organizations, and trade unions to be brought into line with international standards.

RFA

Authorities in Cambodia arrested outspoken union chief Rong Chhun from his home in Phnom Penh on Friday in connection with a statement he made claiming that the country had ceded land to Vietnam along their shared border, according to officials.

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and a member of the Cambodia Watchdog Council, was taken into custody on charges of �incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest� under Article 495 of Cambodia�s Penal Code, Ministry of Justice spokesman Chhin Malin told RFA�s Khmer Service, confirming an earlier report by government-aligned Fresh News.

Fresh News had quoted Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Kuch Kimlong as saying Rong Chhun had been arrested �for allegedly distorting news on [the] border issue,� adding that he had committed a crime �in flagrante delicto,� or was caught in the act.

On July 20, Rong Chhun had visited Trapeang Phlong commune, in Tbong Khmum province�s Ponhea Kraek district, where Cambodians claimed recently placed border posts had caused them to lose land to neighboring Vietnam.

The following day, he issued a statement on behalf of the Cambodia Watchdog Council in which he cited irregularities with the placement of border posts 114 to 119 that resulted in the loss of �hundreds of hectares� (one hectare = 2.5 acres) of ancestral land belonging to area farmers.

However, on Friday, Cambodia�s official Cambodia Border Committee rejected Rong Chhun�s claims, saying his organization had disseminated �fake news� based on �groundless accusations.�

�Rong Chhun colluded with bad actors who claimed their ancestral land was taken by Vietnamese soldiers who ousted them from their farms,� the committee said in the statement.

Kuy Pisey, vice president of the Cambodia Border Committee, told RFA following the release of the statement that the current border demarcation is �based on documentation� and that no farmers have lost land.

She said the government controls around 60 hectares (150 acres) in Ponhea Kraek district that area farmers never controlled and accused the Cambodia Watchdog Council of trying to �confuse people with fake news.�

�What the government has done is not a joke�we are committed to protecting our territory,� she said.

Rong Chhun, who is also the former president of Cambodia�s Teachers� Association and a former member of the country�s National Election Committee, stood by his July 21 statement in an interview with RFA on Friday.

�I am only a union member�I don�t need to be popular,� he said, adding that the Cambodia Border Committee�s accusations �do not reflect my statement.�

�It is the truth, based on the villagers who said they lost around 500 meters (1,640 feet) of their land to the border � The border committee must be brave enough to accept the truth.�

Not long afterwards, police took Rong Chhun into custody for questioning. He is currently being held at an undisclosed location within Phnom Penh, according to family members.

Whereabouts unknown

Soeung Sengkaruna, a spokesman for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA that he visited the Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters, but learned little of Rong Chhun�s situation.

�We want to find out his condition�is he safe and healthy,� he said, adding that it was too early for him to comment on the charges facing Rong Chhun.

Um Sam An, a former lawmaker from the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who once served a prison term for criticizing the country�s handling of the border issue, told RFA that �the government is shutting up nationalists.�

He claimed that farmers are losing land because Cambodia is demarcating the border based on a treaty from 1985, when Vietnam occupied the country following its ouster of the Khmer Rouge regime six years earlier.

�What Rong Chhun was trying to do was to protect villagers from losing their land,� he said.

�I praise Rong Chhun�s conscience and condemn the government for his arrest.�

Border dispute

Rong Chhun�s arrest follows the discovery by Cambodian authorities of 31 military shelters, housing armed Vietnamese soldiers, in Kandal province�s Koh Thom and Leuk Daek districts, which prompted Cambodia�s embassy in Hanoi to issue a May 13 diplomatic d�marche, demanding that the structures be taken down.

By the end of May, only three had been removed, according to Cambodia�s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities in Vietnam�s An Giang province had claimed troops were deployed to guard the area against illegal entrants who could potentially cause an outbreak of the coronavirus, but border activists, including Rong Chhun, said the move amounted to an invasion of Cambodian territory.

Unresolved border issues between Cambodia and Vietnam, former French colonies from the 1860s to 1954, have sparked incidents in the past, with the construction by Vietnam of military posts in contested areas quickly challenged by Cambodian authorities in Phnom Penh.

In June 2015, activists from the CNRP were attacked by Vietnamese villagers when they went to inspect an area in Svay Rieng province where they said a road built by authorities in Vietnam�s Long An province had encroached into Cambodian territory.

A joint communique signed by Cambodia and Vietnam in 1995 stipulates that neither side can make any changes to border markers or allow cross-border cultivation or settlement pending the resolution of outstanding border issues.

RFA

Police and security guards blocked about 100 workers who attempted to march to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s house on July 23 to submit a petition seeking a resolution after their factory shut down without providing benefit payments.

Some 50 police officers and Tuol Kork district security guards stopped the workers on Kampuchea Krom Boulevard in Phsar Depot 1 commune while they were on their way to the prime minister�s house after departing from the Labor Ministry, where they had first submitted their petition.

The workers decided to proceed to Hun Sen�s house as the government had failed to find a solution to their problems after employees had submitted a complaint with the Labor Ministry earlier this month. The Violet Apparel workers are asking that the ministry come to an agreement with the factory owner that would guarantee them seniority indemnity and compensation pay in the wake of the factory�s suspension and subsequent closure due to economic strain in the wake of Covid-19.

The workers previously protested at the factory in Phnom Penh in early July, when the owners suddenly announced that the company would close permanently, and would not pay employees full benefits. More than 1,000 workers have been affected by the closure.

�The Labor Ministry just received the complaint and they did not resolve our problems,� said Kin Chreb, a 32-year-old employee of the factory who participated in the march.

�We peacefully walked toward uncle�s [Hun Sen�s] house but they [police] do not allow us to walk,� she said.

�We demand that the factory owner pay our compensation and other benefits after closing the factory,� Chreb said, adding that workers are owed about $1,000 each, depending on how long they had worked at Violet Apparel.

�As of now, we have not received anything,� she said.

Another worker, Chhor Lin, 34, said she was displeased that authorities and police officials had blocked the group from seeking a resolution from the prime minister.

�Yes, we are angry [that police blocked the march] because what we were doing is in accordance with the law,� she said.

�We had no choice but to march to seek help from Samdech Hun Sen because the Labour Ministry has not resolved the problem for us,� Lin said.

She added that because the factory had abruptly shut down without warning, providing notice pay was essential.

�All workers have not yet received money since the factory closed,� she said. �For me, I am owed about $2,000.�

After police blocked the march, the demonstrators returned to the Labor Ministry where they later met with officials who had promised to find a solution for them.

Ministry spokesman Heng Sour said via Telegram that the ministry was working on the case.

�The ministry will continue to resolve this according to the law,� he said, declining to explain further.

Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), said she had begged the Labor Ministry and government leaders to reach a settlement for workers at Violet Apparel factory.

She said that in May, the factory owner had promised to pay workers their last salary and all bonus pay including seniority indemnity payment, notice payment, and compensation. But on July 1, they rescinded their offer to cover notice payments and compensation, in line with a recent Labor Ministry directive permitting factory owners to forgo bonuses that they can�t afford to cover.

�The law clearly states that if the factory closure is unreasonable, workers are owed all benefits such as last salary, seniority, indemnity, notice payments, and compensation,� Sophorn said.

�In this circumstance, the workers really need money to support their daily lives,� she said.

Earlier this month, the Labor Ministry sent CATU President Sophorn a warning letter for engaging in activities that violate the Law on Trade Unions, accusing her of inciting garment workers to pressure and threaten their employers. The ministry requested that she stop organizing for workers at Violet Apparel (Cambodia) Co., Ltd factory immediately, saying she had broken the law by leading workers in a protest.

According to a GMAC statement from June, about 400 factories have suspended operations and more than 150,000 workers have lost their jobs due to the global Covid-19 outbreak.

Camboja News

Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) have again released evidence against the �human rights group� LICADHO, this time finding �misleading and biased methodology� in their latest anti-MFI briefing paper.

Khmer Times has also found faked and misleading donations published on their official website as questions are now raised about LICADHO�s true status as a civil society organisation.

The most recent briefing paper in question was released on June 30 and entitled: �Worked to Debt: Over-Indebtedness in Cambodia�s Garment Sector.�

It was co-authored by the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) and Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO).

The group concluded that, based on the hardship of the 162 garment workers surveyed, without immediate debt relief, many of the employees will resort to selling their land or their homes, eating less food or taking out even more loans to repay their debts.

However, after a detailed study of the paper, the CMA found that the survey methodology was lacking in scientific terms, biased and lacked understanding of microfinance and that there was not enough information to be verified.

As mentioned, the survey only collected information from 162 people from three of the hundreds of thousands of factories and hundreds of thousands of workers, it stated.

Other interviewees were also recruited through �union leaders in each factory,� not randomly, which is not a reliable method because of their possible bias.

In addition, they said, the data presented in this report is inconsistent with the details of the Credit Bureau of Cambodia and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). The report also does not disclose the size of loans, sources of income other than factory salaries, the data of which is necessary to assess the actual impact.

The findings come only two weeks after Khmer Times reported that LICADHO had also misled the plight of cross border migrants in a video released in early May this year entitled �Driven Out: One Village�s Experience with MFIs and Cross-Border Migration�.

As blatant evidence showed, two interviewees, among the four featured in the four-minute video, had their financial situations seriously misled or possibly faked. They had also been staged to look more destitute than they were.

Khmer Times has also been investigating LICADHO�s claimed financial donors, because it lists several well-known and respected organisation as �gold donors� (USD$5,000 or more) such as the World Food Programme (WFP) on their official website signed by its president Kek Galabru.

However, when contacted to verify those listed, the WFP said, �We have no relationship with LICADHO. �Our pipeline officer who has been with the WFP for more than 20 years also confirmed we have never provided any contribution to LICADHO,� it added.

The UK and Australian embassy�s in Cambodia said that their donations had been given in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The US embassy, which provided funding through USAID, said, �The US embassy has a long history of support for Cambodian civil society groups, including LICADHO.�

However, it did not reply to direct questions asking whether the embassy fully supported the validity of LICADHO�s research nor give exact timings or amounts of donations.

German and European Union offices acknowledged Khmer Times� request for LICADHO donation claims but did not provide any response.

There are now questions as to the real political agenda of LICADHO and its status as a civil society organisation because its briefing papers are increasingly now being quoted as factual evidence by those with an established anti-government agenda.

Ex-President of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party Sam Rainsy has been quoting LICADHO in various international media outlets as evidence that the government needs to overhaul the industry.

He wrote, �Research published jointly by LICADHO and local trade unions in June shows the realities of microfinance during COVID-19. Without immediate debt relief, thousands of Cambodian workers will have to sell their land or their homes, or eat less to repay their debts�.

He added foreign financial institutions that �invest� in Cambodian microfinance including, French bank BRED, Triodos of the Netherlands, and Sumitomo Mitsui of Japan, all of which have stakes in ACLEDA Bank are a part of the problem too.

Human Rights Watch also quoted LICADHO this week when it said, the Cambodian government and the NBC should urgently suspend debt collection and interest accruals for micro-loan borrowers who are no longer able to meet their debt payments because of COVID-19.

The micro-loan providers are likewise failing in their human rights responsibilities to borrowers, they added.

That said, various government bodies have already acknowledged � that like any financial industry around the world � Cambodia�s microfinance industry can make improvements in regulation and policy.

They outlined the need for lenders to assist struggling borrowers at all times and especially as the COVID-19 pandemic hits the global economy.

The NBC understood this when it enforced, against industry requests, regulations of an 18 percent per annum interest ceiling in 2017. This decision was based upon long-term and widespread discussions and in consultation with verified independent research.

The Association of Banks in Cambodia in April expressed its full support to implement the NBC�s �Circular on Loan Restructuring� to maintain financial stability and relieve the burden of borrowers whose main sources of income are affected by the pandemic.

Khmer Times has and will continue to report fairly on any shortcomings of the microfinance industry as well as the shortcomings of organisations such as LICADHO, in the hope to truly understand and better assist the enterprises.

For reasons only known to the Director of LICADHO Naly Pilorge � who has written extensively for international publications on the importance of transparency and openness in Cambodia � LICADHO refuses to enter into any dialogue with this publication.

Khmer Times has even offered to organise an open policy discussion between Cambodia Microfinance Association, LICADHO and any relevant organisations to discuss any recommendations or concerns with the industry, but Pilorge has again chosen not to comment.

This can be seen to be to the detriment of those she purports to stand up for.

Khmer Times

One forestry activist was beaten and another died after he was injured in a motorbike crash while both had been investigating illegal timber transportation in two separate incidents in which the activists had attempted to confront those they accused of forestry crimes.

Environmental activist Heng Sros said on Friday that Sen Sothea, a forestry activist in Stung Treng province, died after the two men crashed their motorbike Thursday evening while investigating a company they believed to be behind forest clearing in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sros said that he and Sen Sothea, 46, had traveled to Boeng Char commune in Kratie province�s Sambor district to investigate timber transporting near the Think Biotech concession, which also stretches into Stung Treng province on the eastern border of the Prey Lang sanctuary.

Sros said he and Sen Sothea were threatened by guards from Think Biotech and they decided to retreat.

�We started taking photos for about half an hour and suddenly, the head of the company�s security guards came and threatened us to leave from that area and go to another place,� Sros said. �They did not allow us to get close to the company and they did not allow us to be in the path that timber was being transported.�

�They threatened that if we did not leave, they would bring more security guards and round us up and mistreat us by all means. So, we decided to drive the motorbike to escape from them and find a safe place,� Sros said.

As they were leaving the area on the same motorbike, Sros said the pair hit a hole in the road causing them to crash. Sen Sothea, who was driving, was seriously injured. He died later on Thursday while he was transported to the Sambor District Referral Hospital. Sros said the two had drank a small amount of locally made wine before they were confronted by guards. Sros said Sen Sothea was survived by his wife and two children in Stung Treng province.

Lu Chu Chang, director of Think Biotech and its sister company Angkor Plywood, said he learned of the incident on Friday morning. He said he had attempted to contact commune authorities to find out what happened, but had not received information from them.

Forest monitoring group Prey Lang Community Network said in a statement that Sen Sothea had been a participant and core group member since 2005 and had regularly investigated and reported illegal forest encroachment and other forestry crimes.

Think Biotech and Angkor Plywood have been frequently accused of forest clearing and road building within the 430,000-hectare Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary, which spans Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom provinces, lost at least 7,500 hectares of forest cover last year, according to satellite data.

Soeng Senkaruna, spokesperson for human rights group Adhoc, urged authorities to investigate the case to determine if there was a threat made by the company�s guards against the two activists.

�Even though he died related to a motorbike accident, it is related to the [alleged] threat. This threat made him leave the place where they were investigating forestry crimes in that area,� Senkaruna said. �Whether there is a threat or not, authorities should clarify it and if there is a threat against them, [authorities] should take action against those who threatened them.�

Bun Chhoeun, Sambor district�s police chief, told VOD that he assigned local officers to investigate the allegation.

�Just wait for the commune police administration to investigate and if we find it is true, I will get approval from my superiors and might take action,� Chhoeun said.

VOD Hotnews

In a separate case, Chhorn Phalla, a forestry activist in his early 40s from Lumphat district�s Seda commune, said on Thursday that Ratanakiri officials had consistently ignored his complaints about forestry crimes, and he was beaten by villagers last week over his accusations.

During a press conference organized by Adhoc in Phnom Penh on Thursday, Phalla said he had filed eight complaints in about four years to the Ratanakiri Provincial Court, accusing provincial officials and other residents of condoning and benefiting from forestry crimes.

At a public forum in Seda commune on July 8, the activist told attendees that authorities were ignoring his legal complaints. Then, Phalla was beaten until he lost consciousness by individuals who he said he had filed complaints against.

After the alleged assault, the activist said he asked Lumphat district governor Nou The for help, but The told him to stop filing complaints against provincial authorities.

�District governor Nou The, he threatened me. He said that if I still protest over forestry crimes, he will arrest and imprison me,� Phalla said.

When contacted by VOD on Thursday, The said he would not comment on the case over the phone.

�I don�t have a habit of talking through the phone,� he said. �As a request, please gather four, 10 or 20 journalists to visit Seda commune to hold a press conference with people. Hold a press conference like Phalla and come to hear the real words from people that tell the truth.�

Ratanakiri Provincial Court spokesperson Keo Pisoth could not be reached for comment.

Phalla also appealed to national authorities to stop forestry crimes throughout the province and said he would submit a report about the attack to officials once he recovered from his injuries.

�I would like Samdech [Prime Minister Hun Sen] to help find justice for us,� Phalla told reporters on Thursday. �[I invite] all ministries to visit and inspect directly at the site, and if Samdech has heard [my complaint], I can hand over documents directly to Samdech because I am a victim. I am a protector [of forests] with him.�

At the press conference, Adhoc�s human rights officer Ny Sokha said it is a crime for public officials to threaten citizens who make complaints, and he worried the governor�s actions could prevent individuals from trying to protect Cambodia�s natural resources.

According to the Criminal Code, any intimidation or threat that is meant to persuade someone not to file a complaint is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 6 million riel ($1,500), while an �effective� threat is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 10 million riel ($2,500).

�If there is no action, I think that from now on, those human rights protectors, forestry protectors, state property protectors, natural resource protectors might no longer dare to act because when they come out, they are abused and authorities do not find justice for them,� Sokha said. �This has a bad influence [on activism]. So, I think the government might not ignore [this case].�

Sokha said Phalla and seven other activists from Ratanakiri were staying outside their village, Samut Krom, for fear of possible repercussions.

Government spokesperson Phay Siphan said he was not familiar with Phalla�s case, but he encouraged the activist to contact Environment Minister Say Samal.

�[Samal] is very welcoming of help to protect the forests,� Siphan said. �The government as well as the Environment Ministry are always welcoming of such things.�

Ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra did not respond to requests for comment.

VOD Hotnews

Youth activists and monks were prevented from commemorating the 4th anniversary of the killing of political commentator Kem Ley on Wednesday at the Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh, where the popular figure was shot.

Chamkarmon District Administration on Tuesday banned any public memorial services in remembrance of Kem Ley, who was shot by Oeut Ang on July 10, 2016, drinking his morning coffee at a Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh.

Youth activists, monks and Kem Ley�s supporters said they would continue with their plans to remember the political commentator, which is expected to last four days, till July 10.

Around 50 mixed security forces tried to prevent Kem Ley�s supporters from conducting a small wreath laying ceremony, and instead slowly pushed them across the street to Monivong Boulevard. The activists and monks were then forced to pray on the street, with dozens of security personnel watching over them.

Security personnel also detained a 34-year-old man named Khan Chanthorn and who was wearing a t-shirt with Kem Ley�s image. He was questioned at Boeung Trabek commune police station before being released later, with Police Chief Hong Chanthen calling it an �invitation� to speak.

�So, he wore a [Kem Ley] t-shirt, we called him to be questioned, and then we ordered him to return. There was nothing,� Hong Chanthen said.

Last year, Kung Raiya, a local activist, was arrested a day before a similar commemoration for Kem Ley for selling t-shirts with the commentator�s picture and popular quotes. He was convicted in May for incitement but had already fled the country.

Khan Chanthorn said multiple police officials questioned him about his reason for attending the service and who paid for his expenses. He said he had known Kem Ley for five years, before the latter�s murder.

�They asked me �how much did you get paid to come?�� he said. �They said if I used my time to do business or take care of my wife and children, it will be better. It�s useless to have protest because there is progress in social development.�

Thun Ratha, a member of the environment network Mother Nature Movement, said the police should not have stopped the activists and monks, because their activity was lawful.

�If our act is illegal, you all will not see me speaking. I will be lifted up to put in the police truck. But what I did is legal. It�s 100 percent legal,� he said.

Some of the monks and activists then began a march to Takeo province to Kem Ley�s home, where is a memorial to the political commentator. Kem Ley�s family had to leave the country after his death and were later relocated to Australia.

VoA Cambodia

The Labor Ministry this week warned a labor leader and her union that it could be dissolved over her allegedly illegal incitement of workers to protest over a garment factory closure that left workers without contracts and compensation.

The same union, Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU), and two rights groups were also accused by one of the nation�s largest banks of trying to damage financial institutions� reputations.

About a thousand workers from Violet Apparel (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. in Phnom Penh�s Toek Thla commune protested at the factory on Wednesday, demanding benefits that the union said its members were owed after the company announced an immediate termination of their contracts, CATU president Yang Sophorn told VOD on Thursday.

Violet Apparel�s management had said the company would end workers� contracts on Wednesday, saying there were no orders from buyers due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related economic crisis, after employees returned to the factory following a two-month work suspension, Sophorn said.

The workers were calling for additional compensation under the Labor Law, which was not promised by the company, the union leader added.

Bou Samnang, administration head at Violet Apparel, declined to comment late Friday. The factory employed more than 1,400 workers, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia�s website.

In a letter dated Wednesday, the Labor Ministry accused Sophorn of inciting and leading workers to hold an illegal protest at the shuttered factory.

The ministry letter said Sophorn had encouraged workers to threaten and put pressure on employers in order to get a settlement against the spirit of the Labor Law and related regulations.

The letter claimed that Sophorn led workers to hold activities that caused a traffic jam on the road into the factory and caused trouble for her own personal gain, which was against the law. The ministry also accused her of encouraging workers to gather, which went against the Health Ministry�s Covid-19 health safety guidelines.

�Starting from the day of receiving this warning letter, please immediately stop the above listed illegal activities. In case there is no change or defiance against this warning letter, your professional organization could face a complaint to dissolve or other actions under the law,� the letter states.

Speaking with VOD, Sophorn expressed her disappointment and denied the ministry�s accusations against her, saying that she had not incited workers or conducted illegal activities.

Based on the law, as the union�s leader, she had the right to meet with and find solutions for her members, Sophorn said.

Her presence at the factory on Wednesday was to meet, discuss and find a solution for union members because the company had promised workers final wages, severance pay and year-end bonuses, but they were also entitled to compensation for late notice of termination and damages, according to Sophorn.

�The letter was addressed to me and accused me strongly. It said I have threatened the employer and that I have incited workers to hold an illegal protest. So, at this point, I denied and can ask workers which one I incited and which employer I threatened,� she said. �I have never threatened anyone.�

She added, �If someone says something unreasonable and doesn�t allow me to respond�where is my freedom of speech? What happened to the law?�

Ung Chanthoeun, a union worker employed at Violet Apparel for 17 years, said Sophorn had not incited workers to protest, but came to meet them after they had started protesting over the termination of their contracts.

�I was there and Yang Sophorn did not incite or lead the protest. Workers were already gathered,� Chanthoeun said. �In this case, workers asked Ms. Sophorn to take their case to the Arbitration Council.�

Khun Tharo, a program manager at labor rights group Central, said the ministry�s warning letter to Sophorn was a kind of threat to union leaders who participate in protests and a violation of basic labor rights.

�The ministry should conduct an inspection or urge employers to fulfill their legal duties properly,� Tharo said.

Sophorn�s union, CATU, and rights groups Licadho and Central said in a report this week that tens of thousands of garment workers, who are facing slashed work hours and wages amid the global economic downturn, will struggle to repay mounting microfinance debt. The organizations cited a survey of more than 150 microloan-holding CATU workers, the majority of whom said they were already eating less food or had taken another loan to repay their debts.

�Garment workers have worked tirelessly to provide food for their families,� Sophorn said in a statement released with the report on Tuesday. �Now they can barely afford to feed themselves. Without debt relief or social protections, I�m worried that things are going to get worse and worse for these workers.�

On Thursday, Acleda Bank, which offers microloans, issued a statement in response to Tuesday�s report from CATU, Central and Licadho, accusing the civil society groups of trying to infringe on people�s rights and dignity, confusing those using financial services and claiming the groups were causing social disorder in order to gain benefits from donors.

Acleda said the report lacked professional research and an understanding of banking and financial laws, as well as affected the reputation of the bank and other financial institutions.

The report has �incomprehensive information� and �does not reflect the real situation� of the country, Acleda said.

Acleda appealed to the groups to cease their research activities, which have critically examined the microfinance sector, and to authorities to �take legal action against any person or group that incites to cause instability,� and harms the national economy and investor confidence.

Licadho�s monitoring manager Am Sam Ath told VOD on Friday that the survey of union workers was conducted after seeing the impacts on workers after they were suspended from work.

The civil society groups� report aimed to bring more attention to the effects on workers while they were facing an economic crisis, Sam Ath said, adding that he was not worried about any legal action from Acleda.

�We are not afraid over the statement to take action because in that statement, it did not point at the three civil society groups. It points to any person who incited and caused negative impacts on the banks and microfinance institutions,� said Sam Ath, explaining that the groups had not caused harm.

On Friday, the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) issued a statement criticizing a separate May report from Licadho that highlighted the experience of one village in Banteay Meanchey province with microfinance debt and cross-border migration.

CMA said it had reinterviewed two of the villagers who Licadho spoke with last year � even though the rights organization did not disclose the subjects� identities nor the village where they live � and found �irregularities� in their stories compared to what Licadho�s report detailed.

�In addition to the irregularities, from CMA�s observation and interviews, villagers and local authority, all claimed that formal loan service from MFIs was crucial in improving everyday economic activities and livelihood of the people in the area which also contributed to community development. The claim is completely opposite from LICADHO�s report conclusions,� the industry association said.

Licadho�s director Naly Pilorge said on Friday that the group stood by their research methodology, findings and recommendations, and respected the wish of people interviewed by the group last year to remain anonymous.

�We take this opportunity to once again urge the CMA to conduct an independent, countrywide survey of indebted borrowers and publish the results publicly,� Pilorge said.

VOD Hotnews

Today, on 22 June 2020, a group of six environmental activists, including one monk, presented at Botumvatey Pagoda Park to exhibit images of Koh Kong Province�s Koh Kong Krao Island to the public. The exhibition of the pictures of Koh Kong Krao Island which started at around 4.30pm is part of their campaign called �Save Koh Kong Krao� in which they demand the Cambodian government to classify this island as a protected national sea park to enable it to preserve its natural resources. Authorities arrived to prevent the exhibition declaring that the youth group required prior permission from the Phnom Penh Municipality in order to display the images.

CCHR

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday convicted and sentenced in absentia the activist Kong Raiya to two years in prison. However, he will only serve four months and 18 days. This is over the sale of t-shirts bearing the images and quotes of slain political analyst Kem Ley in July last year. Raiya has already served more than four months in pre-trial detention.

Judge Ouk Reth Kunthea said Raiya, 28, was charged with �incitement to commit a felony and committing a misdemeanor� under Articles 494, 495 and 88 of the Criminal Code.

�The court convicts and sentences Kong Raiya to two years in prison. But he will only serve four months and 18 days prison time. The rest of his sentence will be suspended. He is now out on bail,� Judge Kunthea said.

Raiya was arrested on July 9 last year after he urged activists to participate in marking the death anniversary of Mr Ley which was banned by City Hall. He also put up t-shirts for sale on Facebook.

On the t-shirts Raiya wrote �If you do nothing, you will be victimised. It is just not your turn yet,� quoting Mr Ley.

He was released on bail from Prey Sar prison on November 29 last year.

Mr Raiya could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Mr Sam Sokong, Raiya�s lawyer, said yesterday the judgment was unjust because his client only wanted to sell t-shirts, not call for a change of government.

He said his client did not incite anyone to commit a crime. He only printed Mr Ley�s quotes and portrait on t-shirts based on freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Khmer Times

The Siem Reap Provincial Court has launched a preliminary rape investigation into prominent activist monk Luon Savath, in relation to Facebook videos released last week alleging the monk had inappropriate relations with four women, a charge he has denied.

The alleged videos were released on a Facebook account called �Srey Da Chi-Kraeng� and purportedly showed Venerable Luon Sovath having salacious conversations with a woman and her three daughters. Apart from posting these videos, the account, which was created two weeks ago, has had no other activity.

The activist monk, who is in hiding, has �vehemently� denied the accusation calling it politically motivated. However, the Monk Council in Siem Reap announced on June 3 that he had been expelled from the clergy, accusing him of having sexual intercourse.

Additionally, local police executed a search warrant this week and confiscated materials from the monk�s home.

On Friday, Siem Reap court spokesperson Chuon Sophanha said a victim had complained about the monk and that authorities were investigating the monk for rape.

�We suspect rape since we have the complaints from the victim,� he said.

He refused to provide any details of the alleged crime or if the court had evidence to proceed with the investigation. He also denied confirming if the court had issued an arrest warrant.

�You should not ask who are involved with this since it can affect the investigation and [Luon Sovath] can flee,� he said.

Siem Reap Police Chief Tith Narong said on Friday that Luon Sovath was suspected of committing an offense, but directed queries to the Siem Reap court.

�It is related to audio messages and a complaint from the victim,� he said. �[We] followed the court warrant which is to bring [Luon Sovath] to court.�

On Wednesday, Tith Narong told VOA Khmer that Luon Sovath had not committed a crime, but changed his response on Friday.

According to Article 239 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, a person can be imprisoned for five to ten years for rape, and up to 15 years if the crime was committed under aggravating circumstances.

On Wednesday, Luon Sovath, who had not spoken publicly since the videos were published, said the videos were doctored and that he had not committed any of the alleged crimes. He said the case was politically motivated.

In a long Facebook post, he said police had seized a lot of his property, including an SUV, an icebox, refrigerator, phones, camera equipment and had even questioned two of his �nephews.�

On Friday, Luon Sovath briefly responded to a request for comment, again denying the allegations leveled against him and calling the Facebook account �Srey Da Chi-Kraeng� fake.

�I haven�t chatted or called anyone from my Facebook accounts,� he said. �[I want] to be silent so this can pass.�

�They can accuse anyone since they have the extreme power to create this setup,� he added.

The four videos in question have been circulating on Facebook, and seemed to originate from one account, �Srey Da Chi-Kraeng� that was created on May 30. The videos, according to the accompanying text on Facebook, are recordings with four women � a mother and three daughters.

The video recordings are of an unidentified person, or persons, sitting in a dimly-lit room and having Facebook audio conversations, ranging from 7 to 10 minutes each. The video is shot so that only the person�s hand holding the smartphone can be seen.

This Facebook account links to three other accounts, suggesting they are the three daughters. However, on one of these accounts, the user posted last week that she and her family were being wrongly involved in this issue.

�The page Srey Da Chi-Kraeng is badly intended to mistreat me,� the user said in the post.

In another post from June 2, the user said her sisters and mother had not done �bad things� with Luon Sovath. These Facebook users did not respond to requests for comment.

VoA Cambodia

Today, on 3 June 2020, a group of 18 youth environmental activists were banned from cycling from Koh Kong to Phnom Penh by Koh Kong district authorities. The activists were taking part in a campaign to �Save Koh Kong Krao Island� where they were attempting to cycle to the capital to submit a petition to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Their petition requests the government to classify Kong Kong Krao island as a protected national sea park to enable it to preserve its natural resources.

When authorities interfered with the procession, each activist was required to undergo a temperature check. Activists refused the authorities request to present their identity cards, however agreed to write and submit a list of their names. The authorities also wanted to review their petition and asked them to thumbprint a letter declaring that they would not submit the petition to the local authority � but the activists refused both requests. At around 11:30am 10 of their bicycles were taken by Koh Kong district police. At around 2:00pm Koh Kong district police invited all the activists to have a discussion over the confiscation of their bicycles, requesting to meet with one activist at a time, but they refused the police�s request because they had already informed the authorities of the purpose of their campaign.

Koh Kong provincial hall spokesman Sok Sothy told The Post that authorities had taken the bicycles and blocked the group from moving forward because they had not cooperated with the authorities.

“We asked them to come in for a Covid-19 screening and they did not cooperate,” he said. He said the group had gathered without legal permission.

“They said they want to submit the petition to Samdach, but the government has announced a ban on large gatherings. They come from many groups and areas, including Koh Kong, Battambang and Preah Sihanouk and we have to restrain them,” he said.

Sothy said if the youth group intended to submit a petition to Hun Sen, they should have submitted a letter to the provincial administration to follow up on their journey and avoid any unpleasant incidents.

He said if the group had cooperated with the authorities from the beginning, there would have been no problems.

CCHR | Phnom Penh Post

A Ratanakkiri province-based TV3 reporter has requested an extension to a court summons he was issued last week which stemmed from a story he covered about a land dispute at an abandoned Ratanakkiri airport site.

The summons, issued by deputy prosecutor Ra Borandy and dated June 3, said Phal Dam, the 52-year-old journalist, was due to appear in the provincial court at 9am on Monday to respond to allegations made by Banlung town deputy governor Put Dany, who accused Dam of �incitement to commit a crime�.

Dam told The Post last week that he had not committed any crimes and he did not know why he was being accused.

Concerning the story that caused the controversy, he said he interviewed residents who criticised the authorities� for allowing land grabs at airport sites and their refusal to deal with land disputes.

Dam said: �I don�t know Put Dany, but I�ve just found out that he is the deputy governor of Banlung town. Now I am preparing the relevant documents concerning the case and researching facts.

�Moreover, I am looking for a lawyer to help, as I do not yet understand what charges are being brought against me.�

He said on Sunday that he had applied to postpone his appearance last Friday in court and mentioned the summons was unclear.

Dany could not be reached for comment.

Provincial Department of Information director Kol Phanna said last week he had received information about the case, but he did not know the reason for the lawsuit. He urged the two parties to settle the matter out of court.

He said there had been prior complaints against the reporter concerning clarification in his reporting, although they had never led to legal action.

Phanna said: �I do not see this summons as a threat to the freedom of the press. Every person has his or her reputation to consider, so if reporters are reporting professionally and ethically, I don�t believe that they will be sued, and if they have enough evidence, they should not be afraid.�

Nop Vy, the executive director of the Cambodian Journalists Association (Cambo-JA), said the lawsuit was a violation of the rights of the press.

According to the law on journalism, Vy said, if journalists write or publish something that is not clear, those involved should clarify or write a letter to the media organisation.

�If there�s an error related to news writing, we correct it by using the journalism laws, not by using the courts. If journalists face issues like this over small things, no journalist would dare write about the inaction of officials, and more officials would become corrupt,� he said.

Phnom Penh Post

Banteay Meanchey police officials detained and later released human and environmental rights activist Hun Vannak on Monday, as security forces were deployed for a planned protest by market vendors in Poipet town.

Poipet residents, most of whom are market vendors in Rong Kleu Market in Thailand across the border, planned to demonstrate on Monday morning requesting that the border to be reopened to resume trade in the market. The Thai border has been closed since March to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Hun Vannak, who was at the protest as an independent observer, was documenting the planned demonstration, especially the heavy security presence that had been deployed by provincial authorities. While taking photographs and videos of the security presence, Hun Vannak said he was arrested and taken to a site near the train station for questioning.

�If there is violence against the people, then that would be a human rights violation,� said Hun Vannak, who is also part of a newly-formed youth movement called Khmer Thavareak. �And as a human rights activist, I need to monitor that.�

Hun Vannak told VOA Khmer that he was accused of collecting information for the opposition party, a reference to the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party. He was forced to delete all the photos and videos he filmed on Monday, but he refused to sign an agreement with the police nor did he speak during his questioning, which was filmed by the police.

The youth activist previously worked for environmental protection NGO Mother Nature, and was imprisoned for 18 months in early 2018 for his activism against sand dredging in Koh Kong province.

Seth Los, deputy chief for the Banteay Meanchey provincial police, said authorities only wanted to question Hun Vannak and had not arrested him. He added that they educated Hun Vannak and released him after asking him not to indulge in any �illegal activities.�

�We invited him to sit with us to ask him where he come from and what his work is,� said Seth Los. �After we got the answers, the deputy prosecutor educated him and allowed him to go back to his house.�

Asked about the heavy security presence in Poipet, Seth Los said it was in response to the planned demonstration, refusing to provide additional details.

Din Puthy, head of the Cambodia Informal Economy Reinforced Association which helps informal workers in the border town, said the protest on Monday was canceled because of the heavy security presence.

The civil society member said market vendors and transportation workers were hurting financially because of the border closure and authorities needed to open the checkpoint to allow vendors to trade.

�So, if we cannot earn, we don't have money to spend,� Din Puthy said. �They have to spend on their bank loan, children�s school fees, food, electricity, and everything. That is why they worry that they might have to go hungry.�

VOA Khmer could not reach Banteay Meanchey Governor Um Reatrey for comment on Monday.

Local publication VOD English reported last week that authorities had deployed security forces across the border town after a request for the protest was rejected by the province, especially a heavy presence of security personnel at Din Puthy�s residence.

Sum Chankea, rights civil society group ADHOC�s Banteay Meanchey monitor, said preventing residents from protesting and the detention of Hun Vannak was a serious violation of human rights.

"It is the violation of liberties and the freedom of expression, including dissemination of information,� he said.

VoA Cambodia

The Monk Council in Siem Reap province expelled prominent activist monk and human rights defender Venerable Luon Savath on Wednesday, based on leaked audio recordings purportedly between the monk and a group of women.

In a decision dated June 3, head of the Monk Council in Siem Reap, Chum Kimleng, alleged that Luon Sovath had conversations about �deep love� with women, which were shared on Facebook. The statement added that the conversations were between the monk, a woman and her daughters, alleging that Luon Sovath indulged in sexual activity.

�If Luon Sovath wears monk robes from now on, related authorities take legal actions,� read the announcement, which defrocked the monk effective Wednesday.

The Monk Council claimed to have investigated the video recordings, but did not provide any evidence or forensic analysis with the statement to show the voice in the recordings belonged to Luon Sovath or if he had acted in violation of religious norms.

VOA Khmer attempted to reach Luon Sovath on the phone and his social media accounts on Thursday, but the activist monk did not respond to requests for comment.

There are four videos circulating on Facebook, and seem to originate from one account, called Srey Da Chi-Kraeng that was created on May 30. The videos, according to the accompanying text on Facebook, are recordings with four women � a mother and three daughters.

The video recordings are of an unidentified person, or persons, sitting in a dimly-lit room and having Facebook audio conversation, ranging seven to 10 minutes each. The video is shot so that only the person�s hand holding the smartphone can be seen.

The Facebook account involved in the alleged call has a male voice and uses the image of Luon Sovath and his name in Khmer script. The conversations are flirtatious in nature and include discussions about giving each other massages.

VOA Khmer could identify two Facebook accounts and one page used by Luon Sovath in the past. One of the accounts, which seems to belong to the venerable monk was created in 2017, it has the same display picture as that seen in the videotaped Facebook calls.

However, VOA Khmer found another Facebook account, called Luon Sovath, using the same display picture and was created on May 29, a day before the Srey Da Chi-Kraeng account was created.

The Monk Council in Siem Reap could not be reached on Thursday to provide details of their investigation into the recordings.

Bor Bet, a monk and member of Independent Monk Network for Social Justice, received a call from Luon Sovath last week, with the activist monk alleging that �people wanted to mistreat me.�

�He told me that they want to frame him,� Bor Bet said. �[Luon Sovath said] it is a political case and done because we are human right defenders.�

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture and Religion, Seng Somony, said the ministry had received the decision to defrock Luon Sovath, rejecting the accusation that the development was politically motivated.

�It is about violating Buddhist rules, it is not related to politics,� he said, adding that there will be no further investigation into the matter.

�But if [Luon Sovath] wants to prove he didn�t do it, he can prove his innocence in front of the monk chief,� he said.

Luon Sovath has been internationally recognized for his work in documenting land rights abuses in Cambodia and was featured in the documentary, A Cambodian Spring, for his activism. In 2012, the multimedia-savvy monk was nominated for Martin Ennals Awards in Geneva, Switzerland.

VoA Cambodia

The leader of an informal workers� union in Poipet City said excessive security forces were deployed throughout the city as a �threat� after his request to hold a demonstration over border crossing restrictions next week was denied.

Din Puthy, head of the Cambodia Informal Economy Reinforced Association, told VOD on Wednesday that authorities deployed forces around Poipet City, with about 25 security guards patrolling near his house in the city on the Thai border.

Puthy said he saw the increased presence of authorities and state surveillance as a threat.

�This deployment is a threat to [union members�] feelings and spirits,� Puthy said. �They are monitoring us, and they are afraid that we will assemble our members. This morning, some [union] members came to my house, but they dared not enter because there were so many security forces.�

He said he noticed forces patrolling near his home on Wednesday, two days after he submitted a request to hold a seven-day protest starting on June 1.

Provincial police chief Ath Khem rejected Puthy�s accusations and said the deployment of security forces in the city was to ensure public order.

�He asked permission to hold a demonstration and the provincial [government] issued a notice, informing him that he was not allowed. No one deployed forces at his house,� Khem claimed. �What position is he holding that he needs to be protected?�

In 2016, Puthy, then also the outlawed opposition CNRP�s deputy head of operations in Poipet, was detained on charges of aggravated intentional violence after authorities accused him of driving his SUV into border police officer Chhean Pisith. But video footage and eyewitness accounts revealed Pisith fell to the ground before Puthy�s car could hit him, resulting in the officer being mocked online for �acting� and flopping in front of the vehicle.

On Monday, Puthy�s informal economy association submitted a letter to Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Um Reatrey stating that over the course of next week, about 1,500 people would gather to call for the Cambodia-Thailand border to reopen to people, including Rong Kleu market vendors, cart-pushing porters and drivers of taxis, tuk-tuks and motorbikes.

The union said if Thailand did not allow Cambodian pedestrians, carts and vehicles to enter Thailand�s Sakeo province from Cambodia, authorities should close the Cambodian side of the border to goods entering from Thailand, according to the letter, which was signed by Puthy.

The unionist also raises concerns that Cambodian vendors who have goods stored at the Rong Kleu market will not be able to sell their products, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, before they expire or are damaged by water, rats or insects.

Puthy claims that while the Poipet border crossing is still closed, some Cambodians were bribing Thai authorities to gain entry to Thailand through illegal crossings, which raised the risk of Covid-19 transmission. He added that the opening of the border gate would help reduce illegal crossings.

The provincial government issued a statement later on Monday rejecting the union�s request for a demonstration and noting the authorities� actions were intended to prevent coronavirus transmission amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Puthy, also known as Mang Puthy, said he and union members would not protest after hearing the government�s response, but the public had the right to protest if they so desired.

�I changed my mind because I had informed the provincial hall, and the provincial hall issued a letter rejecting my request,� Puthy told VOD on Wednesday.

�I should not participate and the association will also not participate, but people can still keep holding the demonstration,� he added.

Soeng Senkaruna, spokesman for the human rights organization Adhoc, urged authorities to focus their energy on trying to find a solution for the people who planned to demonstrate, rather than increasing security measures.

�This is an issue because [people] try to demand a solution to the economic crisis or the challenging living conditions that they are facing because there is nothing they can do for their livelihoods,� Senkaruna said. �For these issues, I think all relevant authorities should conduct a survey of the issues [people] are facing in order to find solutions for them.�

VOD Hotnews

A journalist and radio station owner in Kampong Chhnang province was jailed on Friday on incitement charges in relation to his �exaggerated and inciting� news coverage and comments on a land dispute, officials said.

Sok Udom, owner of the 99.75 FM radio station and Rithysen news website, was provisionally detained after he was questioned in court and charged with incitement to commit a felony, said Chhuon Sivin, a provincial court spokesman.

�Sok Udom incited and provoked people to protest, accusing authorities of taking a military base and state land as personal property, which caused confusion and loss of trust in authorities and affected social security,� Sivin said.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a 4 million riel fine (about $1,000). Freedom of the press, assembly and expression are protected rights under the Cambodian Constitution.

Udom was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly inciting people to occupy land in Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary within the province, and then sent to court on Thursday, provincial police chief Khov Ly said.

�He broadcasted to incite people to encroach land in Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Cheab commune,� Ly told VOD on Thursday. �That is a crime and a red-handed crime.�

The arrest came as the Information Ministry revoked Udom�s media license, describing the reporter�s posts on Facebook as �exaggerated and inciting� news that violated professional standards and could cause violence, racism, insecurity and chaos in society.

On Monday, Udom posted to his Facebook page, Rithysen, about an alleged illegal construction in Kampong Chhnang City, which he claimed was owned by a Vietnamese national.

He then posted a video of a protest on Tuesday in Teok Phos district�s Cheab commune, in which residents accused provincial authorities of grabbing land within the wildlife sanctuary.

�We want to question whether the provincial governor held a meeting to take the land from people who rely on it,� Udom said in the 50-minute video. �What you are doing is tearing apart [the people�s] votes in support of the government.�

Before he was arrested on Wednesday, Udom accused law enforcement of nepotism and corruption in another Facebook post.

Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn said officials at the Kampong Chhnang provincial information department had warned Udom several times previously about his news broadcasts.

�After he was educated, we still have seen his broadcasts go against the code of journalism ethics, [and] violate the contract upheld by the Information Ministry and provincial information department,� Sophorn said. �So the ministry decided to cancel his license.�

Udom acquired a media license for the radio station in 2014 and for his website in 2018.

Mam Chhoeum, director of the provincial information department, referred questions to Phos Sovann, director of the ministry�s department of information and broadcasting, who could not be reached for comment.

Yon Sineat, a board member of CamboJA, an independent journalists� association that includes VOD staff on its board, said the Information Ministry�s decision to revoke Udom�s license before he was charged with a crime sent a threatening message to journalists reporting on the government and officials.

�Any media outlet that tries to critically report [on the government] in order to improve and develop society, provide accurate information for the benefit of the public and their ability to make decisions, or criticize in a constructive way, is not often welcomed [by the government],� she said. �Instead, they are frequently suppressed and threatened, leading to the imprisonment of some reporters. That is a direct threat to press freedom.�

Last month, the Information Ministry revoked licenses from two other online news outlets.

The online news outlet TVFB lost its license after its editor-in-chief, Sovann Rithy, quoted an excerpt from a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen in which he said struggling motorbike taxi drivers should sell their vehicles because the government could not afford to help them through the ongoing economic slowdown. Rithy was also jailed on incitement charges.

At the end of the month, news website CKV TV Online, which is owned by Chan Rithy, also lost its media license after the Information Ministry said it violated its contract and professional standards.

Cambodia ranked 144th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders� 2020 World Press Freedom Index, slipping one place from its rating last year.

VOD Hotnews

We the undersigned groups decry the harassment of community representatives from across Cambodia on Tuesday, April 28. These community representatives were arbitrarily detained for seven hours and interrogated while trying to submit a petition asking for additional government assistance to vulnerable communities during the Covid-19 crisis. More than 30 community representatives from across Cambodia gathered in Phnom Penh to submit the petition, which has life-saving requests such as asking the government to distribute medical supplies to vulnerable communities; suspend debts from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and private money lenders; and provide direct economic assistance, including suspending rental fees for poor and informal workers and providing stay-at-home payments. During this process, community representatives were repeatedly asked by authorities, including police officers, what organisations were �behind� this petition, who authored the petition, and were questioned about whether they really faced the problems listed. Many questions focused on the community members� microfinance debt, and some representatives were asked about their personal financial situation and were required to provide proof of debts to MFIs to district authorities. At least two community representatives were additionally summonsed and harassed after they returned home to their communities by local authorities. These interrogations are insulting and appear predicated on the mistrust of vocal communities who actively exercise their right to freely express themselves. They ignore the reality that independent communities across Cambodia have advocated for their rights for decades, in particular around crucial issues such as land rights. This harassment is unjustified and should never have taken place, particularly when the Interior Ministry has repeatedly claimed that grassroots communities have the right to conduct activities free from disturbance and in accordance with the law. On the morning of April 28, community representatives gathered in Phnom Penh but were denied permission to submit the petition to the Council of Ministers. They were instead directed by authorities to Prime Minister Hun Sen�s Cabinet, but officials there declined to accept the petition because it was addressed to the Council of Ministers. Copies were successfully delivered to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economy and Finance. The petition was signed by 141 communities across the country and seeks to address the health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 virus, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities in rural areas as well as Phnom Penh. It notes that government schemes such as ID Poor are not yet comprehensive or fully effective, and encourages the government to take a more holistic approach to fighting the economic impact of the virus. It also includes a call for an immediate halt on all evictions during the Covid-19 crisis in order to protect community members and authorities from the virus. After meeting with authorities and police officers at Hun Sen�s Cabinet, nine community members were asked by officials to discuss the petition further at the Daun Penh district office at around 3:00 p.m. They were detained in the district office for more than 7 hours, denied permission to leave and were never provided legal justification for their detention. During their detention, they faced interrogation from authorities until after 10:00 p.m. Some representatives were deliberately singled out and questioned individually, and then had answers compared to other representatives � interrogation techniques more

commonly used on criminals, not peaceful petitioners. Some representatives were also ordered to unlock and hand over their smartphones, and were questioned repeatedly about who authored the petition, as well as their personal financial relationships with MFIs. At the end of the interrogation, community representatives were coerced into thumbprinting documents that seek to restrict their right to continue advocating on behalf of their communities prior to being allowed to leave the district office. These community representatives should have been welcomed by their government and treated with dignity while they shared the legitimate concerns of tens of thousands of community members across Cambodia. The community representatives set out with the intention to inform their government about the problems in their communities and never demanded anything other than that their requests be considered in the government�s response to Covid-19. We strongly decry their treatment at the hands of authorities.

CCHR

Environmental activists patrolling Prey Lang forest in Cambodia�s central plains said Thursday that authorities interfered with their work and even tried to arrest them after they documented a local company conducting extensive illegal logging in the protected area.

A group known as Lovers of the Environment, which is mostly comprised of youth activists, launched a campaign on Wednesday to drive their motorbikes through Prey Lang�s wildlife sanctuary areas of O�Anamai, O�Romany, O�Krak, O�Sgnuot, and Red Mountain over the course of five days to monitor for illegal logging activities.

Heng Sros, one of the group�s campaigners, told RFA�s Khmer Service on Thursday that over the course of just two days he saw �hundreds of people� in the forest illegally cutting down old-growth trees and transporting them to sawmills run by Think-Biotech Co., Ltd. on the outskirts of Prey Lang, where they were processed and sold for around U.S. $225 per cubic meter.

Meanwhile, felled logs lay unprocessed and awaiting transport throughout the areas the group monitored, he said.

But while Lovers of the Environment worked to document the illegal logging, according to Heng Sros, local authorities followed the group throughout the forest closely watching its activities and seemingly working in conjunction with forestry officials to try to arrest its members.

�The authorities not only didn�t stop the illegal loggers, but they tried to stop our activities and attempted to arrest us, even though we are defenders of the environment who have been working hard and sacrificing our lives to prevent Cambodia�s forests from disappearing,� he said.

�They should be ashamed. The authorities must guarantee that no one can cut down the supposedly �protected forest� areas of Prey Lang.�

In two days, he said his group located �more than 2,000 felled old-growth logs� in five different locations that it documented with photos and video�most of which are resin-producing trees that local residents rely on for their livelihood.

�We were looking specifically for giant trees aged hundreds of years old,� he said, adding that hired workers �used 100�200 trucks to transport the logs.�

�I interviewed the workers and they told me that they transport the logs to sell to Think-Biotech Co., Ltd. They said if they didn�t sell the logs to Think-Biotech, the authorities and forestry officials would seize them and they would have to pay a fine.�

Heng Sros suggested that authorities are �receiving bribes� from Think-Biotech to shadow his group and threaten them with arrest.

�Protect our remaining forests�

Repeated calls by RFA seeking comment on Heng Sros�s claims from Commission of National Prevention and Suppression Against Forest Crime spokesperson Eng Hy and Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Srey Vudh went unanswered Thursday.

However, Ministry of Environment spokesperson Neth Pheaktra told RFA that while it is the right of Lovers of the Environment to carry out their campaign, �the ministry [only] supports a properly registered nongovernmental organization conducting activities to protect natural resources,� suggesting the group should have first asked for permission to enter the forest from local authorities or the Interior Ministry.

Internationally-recognized environmental activist Leng Ouch, who is chairman of local watchdog Cambodian Human Rights Task Force and a member of the campaign against forest crimes, told RFA that members of his group are willing to lay down their lives to protect the country�s forests, which he called �the natural heritage of our ancestors.�

He appealed to all government authorities and members of the armed forces to protect the country�s remaining forests.

�We are not involved in any struggle or revolution for power�all we really want is to preserve and protect our remaining forests,� he said.

�We aren�t doing this for our own interests, but the [authorities] are taking action against us.�

Think-Biotech did not respond to repeated calls for comment on Thursday. Forest under attack

Prey Lang has been ravaged by deforestation caused by illegal logging, with much of the illicit timber smuggled outside the country. In a report released last year, the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) found that the area lost 56 square kilometers (22 square miles) of forest in 2017 alone.

In late February, masked, armed rangers deployed by the Ministry of Environment blocked hundreds of community members, monks, and environmental activists from entering parts of Prey Lang to join an annual tree-blessing ceremony organized by the PLCN to promote conservation efforts against deforestation.

Last week, Ida Theilade of the University of Copenhagen�s Faculty of Science, issued a statement saying that documentation compiled by PLCN that corresponds with satellite imagery from the EU Joint Research Centre and Global Land Analysis & Discovery (GLAD) - University of Maryland showed �increased illegal logging within the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary� in recent months.

Based on weekly satellite imagery at a 30-meter (100-foot) resolution, GLAD issued approximately 1,000 forest loss alerts for Prey Lang per week since the beginning of 2020, Theilade said, noting that during one week at the end of February, when the Ministry of Environment controlled access to the forest, �the number of forest loss alerts spiked to more than 11,000.�

�We are concerned that the PLCN tree blessing ceremony was banned due to government sanctioned illegal logging of protected resin trees in the area,� the statement said.

�PLCN is still banned from entering the forest and is currently unable to conduct patrols and collect data on forest crimes, biodiversity and climate change. PLCN members can only watch as illegal loggers freely enter Prey Lang and convoys of trucks transport timber out of the forest.�

Anniversary of slaying

Also on Thursday, Cheuy Oudom Reaksmey, the son of slain Cambodian environmental activist Chut Wutty, told RFA his family plans to hold an event in Prey Lang forest on Sunday to commemorate the 8th anniversary of his father�s still-unsolved murder.

Shot to death on April 26, 2012 while investigating illegal logging in Koh Kong�s Mondul Seima district, Chut Wutty had been active in organizing communities to protect Cambodian forests against land grabs. He had also campaigned against the government�s granting of land concessions in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

During the commemoration ceremony, Chut Wutty�s family will demand justice from authorities as his killers have yet to be brought to justice, Cheuy Oudom Reaksmey said. They also plan to launch a social media campaign to remind the public about the activist�s work and sacrifice.

An official investigation into Chut Wutty�s death was closed in October 2013 when a court in Koh Kong province abruptly ended its proceedings, prompting Cheuy Oudom Reaksmey to vow at the time to continue to fight for justice in his father�s case.

RFA

The editor-in-chief of popular online news outlet TVFB was jailed on Thursday on incitement charges in relation to a Facebook post in which he shared remarks made by Prime Minister Hun Sen this week about struggling informal workers.

Sovann Rithy, the founder and face of the Facebook-page-turned-licensed-news-outlet TVFB, now faces up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of 4 million riel ($1,000), if convicted on charges of incitement to commit a felony, according to a court statement.

The Information Ministry on Wednesday revoked TVFB�s broadcast license following Rithy�s arrest on Tuesday night.

The 31-year-old journalist is being detained in Phnom Penh�s PJ prison after he was accused by authorities of inciting social disorder with his Facebook post.

In the post, Rithy cited a quote from Hun Sen�s speech on Tuesday, in which the premier said informal-sector workers who were out of work during the coronavirus crisis would not receive economic assistance from the government.

�If the motodop driver goes bankrupt, he should sell his motorbike for spending [money]. The government has no ability to help,� the post says.

During his speech, Hun Sen said: �For those who have the ID poor card, the state will intervene. But as you asked me, motorbike-taxi drivers have asked if there is any solution. [They must] sell their motorbikes first for spending and buy rice to eat, because if they all come and ask for a solution, [we are going to] die. How could the state have this much money?�

�The state relies on taxes, and if we borrow money from foreign [countries] to pay unemployed people, we will die. No country is going to lend us money to pay for salaries,� the prime minister added.

Hun Sen said earlier in his speech that the government had little money for people working in the informal sector, Voice of America (VOA) reported.

�The government will die if we help motorcycle and taxi drivers. If you are bankrupt, sell the moto first. Why [you] keep the moto for your good looks,� he said, laughing, according to VOA.

On Wednesday, Information Ministry spokesman Meas Sophorn told VOD that TVFB aired news that incited the public, and impacted public order and security.

�We have subsequently enforced the law against reporters at media outlets that are doing something against the law,� Sophorn said. �Having seen that the holder of this license had broadcast news that incited actions that are against the law, [the ministry] needs to enforce the law.�

The ministry was investigating other broadcast news outlets, according to Sophorn, but he did not specify which ones. In order to avoid losing licenses, the spokesman said outlets should properly cite sources, respect the law and maintain professionalism.

Following the ministry�s decision to pull TVFB�s license, the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia said in a statement that it would block two of TVFB�s URLs, tvfb.com.kh and fbtv.news. As of late Thursday, the latter site was accessible in Cambodia.

�A measure is a measure,� spokesman Im Vutha said on Wednesday. �So if you cannot see [the page], it was blocked.�

A TVFB representative could not be reached for comment.

Srey Sotheavy, executive director of the Alliance for Conflict Transformation, said the government�s actions against the news outlet were unacceptable, suggesting that authorities could have sent a warning or educated Rithy instead of doling out a harsh punishment.

�This is an act of expression, a broadcast that allows the audience to consider by themselves about the situation in society,� she said. �That this led to the closure [of TVFB] and a criminal charge [for Rithy] seems severe. This impacts individuals� rights of expression and press freedom.�

In 2018, the government ordered the Information and Telecommunications ministries to monitor and investigate businesses and broadcast news outlets for legal violations. In recent months, authorities have arrested about 20 people over social media posts related to the spread of Covid-19.

Daniel Bastard, head of Reporters Without Borders� (RSF) Asia-Pacific desk, on Wednesday called on the government to release Rithy and reinstate TVFB�s license.

�Imprisoning a journalist for quoting a statement by the prime minister word for word is more than absurd,� Bastard said in a statement. �The Covid-19 crisis must not be used as pretext for getting rid of journalists who do not blindly toe the government line.�

Cambodia is ranked 143rd out of 180 countries in RSF�s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.

During a press conference on Thursday, the Information Ministry�s Sophorn told reporters that organizations that criticized the government�s actions were violating the nation�s legal jurisdiction �by making judgements about facts before the competent institutions in Cambodia.�

In his own Facebook post on Wednesday, Sovann Sokha, Rithy�s father, apologized on behalf of his son and asked the government to pardon Rithy.

�My son Sovann Rithy has made serious mistakes, and I, as his father, have not educated him properly so that he would not act this way,� Sokha says in a two-minute video.

�I am very regretful,� he adds. �Please forgive my son.�

VOD Hotnews

At Kampong Speu province's Superl garment factory, Soy Sros does not just make handbags for international buyers. She has led her union branch for years, speaking up for members and tracking working conditions and labor violations on behalf of the 700 unionized workers at Superl, about half of the factory�s total employees.

So when managers posted a list of names of 88 workers who wouldn�t have their contracts renewed after the end of March due to dwindling handbag orders during the pandemic-driven economic slowdown, and all of them were members of her union, Sros made a serious effort to speak with factory management.

She said she spent the entire day of March 31 trying to talk to a human resources manager about the job losses, and when the administrator refused to talk, she took to Facebook that evening out of frustration.

�The owner of Superl factory defied the government�s recommendations as well as the appeal from the Ministry of Labor, because the company has ended employment contracts for not only normal workers but also a six-months-pregnant worker,� she wrote in a post.

Sros said she meant to ask the factory to retain workers by temporarily suspending them rather than ending their contracts, as officials had urged earlier this year in an effort to prevent job losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, Superl management filed a complaint against Sros that landed her in jail for nearly two months, in a case that labor advocates say has been insufficiently resolved.

The Superl (Cambodia) Co. Ltd. factory supplies handbags to international brands, including Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Kate Spade and others, according to union members and shipment data from the online trade tracker Panjiva. Superl and its sister factor, Siglo (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., are part of the Hong Kong-listed Superl Holdings Group.

In an interview this month, Sros said she thought she had a good working relationship with the factory�s management, but she suspected managers were surprised by the fact that she would post her grievances online, and that the post would draw such a large response from her coworkers.

Colleagues shared her post through the night, and the next morning, a Superl representative called her in for a meeting and told her that the workers would not be fired, just suspended for one month while demand for handbags was slow. The factory also wanted her to retract her Facebook post and state that she had written false information. While Sros did decide to take down the post, she refused to admit any wrongdoing.

�[Superl managers] asked me to sign a warning letter as well as sign another letter to accept that it was my fault, everything was my fault,� she told VOD. �They wanted everything back to normal, but I didn�t agree with them because everything I posted was based on what happened, based on facts.�

On April 2, Sros said she was called into the factory office to meet police officials, who arrested her and questioned her for about 48 hours before sending her to the Kampong Speu provincial prison on a charge of incitement to discriminate.

�I didn�t expect that the factory would do that to me,� she said at the Phnom Penh office of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW), the union that represents her factory. �I thought that we were partners and we worked together for everyone�s progress.�

While workers were temporarily suspended for a month, compensated for the suspension and brought back to work in late May, Sros was imprisoned for one month and 26 days. She said she slept in a cramped space up against other prisoners and was often sick while incarcerated.

�My parents were very upset and they had been stressed out and worried about me,� said Sros, who is a single mother of two, providing for both her children and parents. �They imagined how difficult life was over there, and also all my family is depending on me.�

Sros was released on bail in late May, but the charge against her is still pending. If convicted, she faces one to three years in prison and fines of up to 6 million riel ($1,500).

A Kampong Speu Provincial Court prosecutor declined to answer questions from VOD without being provided the name of the judge in charge of Sros� case.

Sros� lawyer declined to speak with VOD publicly and Sros could not be reached on Friday to confirm that she was still facing the charge.

But Khun Tharo, program manager at labor rights group Central, which has been following Sros� case, said the incitement charge against her had not been dropped and the case was still pending before an investigating judge.

International Appeals

Pav Sina, CUMW�s national president, described the court�s decision to release Sros on May 28 as a surprise. The day before, a Kampong Speu judge had denied Sros� request for bail, but the next day, prison authorities called CUMW and asked the union to pick up Sros from prison.

Sina said the sudden change was due to outside pressure. He had contacted four international labor rights groups � IndustriAll, Clean Clothes Campaign, Workers Rights Consortium and Solidarity Center � to assist with Sros� case.

�The campaign [to free Sros] would not have succeeded without international involvement,� he said. �As we see how it happens in Cambodia, the local legal system doesn�t work properly, so our union had been in touch with the big international organizations�[which] had pressured the big brands.�

Andrea Shaw Resnick, global head of investor relations and corporate communications for Tapestry, the parent firm of the Kate Spade and Coach brands, told VOD in an email on June 10 that Tapestry contacted Superl management in both Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Shaw Resnick said the company is looking into Sros� case and Superl Group has complied with requests for information, but Superl had denied allegations from Sros and the union that the company is targeting union workers.

�It is our understanding that Superl Cambodia and CUMW have met and discussed the incident directly,� she said. �We have also been told that they will meet together again, along with [the] worker at issue from the incident.�

In late April, Capri Holdings, the luxury fashion group that includes Superl buyer Michael Kors, announced in a press statement that it had signed the U.N. Global Compact, a pledge that businesses will uphold human and labor rights, including freedom of association, allowing effective collective bargaining and stopping discrimination in employment.

The company did not respond to emailed questions. When reporters tried to reach Superl management in Cambodia, a Chinese factory manager, who would not give his name, declined to comment.

Chek Borin, head of the Kampong Speu provincial labor department, also declined to answer questions, saying Sros� case was not under his jurisdiction.

Charges Remain in Place

Shortly after the union leader was released, the factory withdrew its complaint on June 3, and 10 days later Sros signed an agreement with Superl�s general manager, Chan Dao Zen, to drop the company�s criminal complaint to the Kampong Speu court and present the agreement between the company and union leader if Sros is called to court.

The document, viewed by reporters, grants Sros almost all of her demands: She resumed work, was given back pay and was promised that the company would not discriminate against her, though she did not receive damages.

The labor incident between Sros and Superl comes a few months before the E.U.�s decision to partially withdraw Cambodia�s �Everything But Arms� (EBA) duty-free trade benefits with the bloc is set to go into effect in August, in part due to labor rights abuses.

In its February decision, the European Commission said that open criminal and civil cases against labor activists and union leaders are infringing on workers� rights and �should be resolved without delay.�

William Conklin, Solidarity Center�s country director, said the travel goods sector, which includes handbags like those made at Superl, is fairly new to Cambodia after a U.S. duty-free trade scheme was extended to travel goods produced in the country in 2016. He said he hoped that brands would take Sros� case seriously.

Getting her job back and back pay does not address what she had to go through, according to Conklin.

�The fact that [the dispute] has seemingly been resolved is a good outcome, but she spent two months in jail and she had health issues, and it would be a traumatic experience for anyone,� he said.

VOD Hotnews

Noted environmentalist Ouch Leng and three activists were arrested and detained in Kratie province on Friday, with the court continuing to question the four over possible charges relating to “breaking and entering a dwelling.”

The Kratie Provincial Court questioned the four environmental activists on Sunday after Sambo district police arrested them when they were investigating illegal logging inside the Think Biotech land concession in the Prey Lang protected area.

The four activists are Ouch Leng, head of the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force and the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize winner; Khem Soky and Srey Thei, from the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN); and Men Mat, who was physically assaulted by company workers while inside the Think Biotech compound on March 13.

Soeng Senkaruna, an investigator with rights group Adhoc, said the four activists were questioned by two prosecutors all day Sunday, which may continue into Monday.

He said a brief meeting with Ouch Leng revealed that prosecutors were questioning the activist in relation to Article 229 of the Criminal Code, for “breaking and entering into dwelling place” and Article 360 relating to “theft” under aggravating circumstances.

“Yes, we met Ouch Leng for a lunch break. He told us that the prosecutor had asked him about two articles of the Penal Code, Articles 299 and 360, including one about the [NGO] Association Law,” Sen Karuna said.

While the four activists have not been officially charged with a crime, Article 299 holds an up to one-year prison sentence, whereas the more serious charge of theft under aggravating circumstances holds a prison sentence of 15 to 30 years.

Aggravating circumstances under Article 360 requires for “violence intentionally causing the death of the victim,” though police and government officials have not indicated any death in the activists’ attempt to uncover illegal logging operations in the concession.

VOA Khmer could not reach representatives at Think Biotech or officials at Kratie Provincial Court.

Chhay Kim Khoeun, spokesperson for the National Police, did not provide additional details about the arrest, but only confirmed that police officers were working on the case and would provide information later.

“We don’t know if they are legal environmentalists or community officials, and have no paper to prove it yet,” he said.

Activists from several NGOs, including monks, congregated outside the Kratie court over the weekend, requesting the release of the four activists.

Nay Vanda, director of rights NGO coalition CHRAC, said he had been monitoring the peaceful protests and marches calling for the release of the four activists.

“While we are monitoring the interrogation process, there are environmental activists and youth activists marching around Kratie's markets and towns calling for their release,” Nay Vanda said.

On Saturday, 24 independent civil society representatives released a joint statement on the arrest of the activists, calling the physical assault by Think Biotech security guards an “abuse of power,” calling for the company to be held responsible for the attack.

The civil society groups also said they viewed these arrests as “a threat to environmental and forest activists, who are peacefully monitoring and reporting on deforestation activities in Prey Lang and other forested areas,” adding that Cambodian laws encouraged citizens to actively participate in the protection of natural resources.

VOA Cambodia

A labor union representing garment factory workers on Tuesday demanded authorities find five masked men who attacked a local union officer in Phnom Penh, leaving him bloodied and in need of stitches.

Soeung Pros, deputy president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union’s (CCAWDU) chapter at the W&D garment factory, was hospitalized on Monday after the daylight assault in front of the factory in Meanchey district, according to a union statement.

“CCAWDU would like to condemn the perpetrators and the accomplices, and ask all related authorities including the court to clearly investigate the case to find justice for the victim,” the union said.

Pros, who has led union protests in the past, was attacked from behind during his lunch break by a man wielding a belt and four others. The unionist was knocked to the ground and sustained cuts to his head resulting in three stitches, the statement said.

He is being treated at the capital’s Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital.

About 900 fired W&D workers returned to work in March last year after Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly demanded their reinstatement, ending a nearly three-month labor dispute that stemmed from demands for unpaid seniority benefits.

Hun Sen had earlier called workers’ demands and related strikes “illegal.” More than 1,000 workers were fired in January 2019 for striking after the company had declined to pay seniority bonuses that workers claimed they were owed.

Pros told VOD that while one man beat him with the metal buckle of a belt, another holding a metal bar stood nearby, but didn’t attack him.

All five men wore surgical masks covering their faces. After the beatdown, they drove away on two motorbikes, with the drivers also wearing helmets, he said.

Pros said he wasn’t sure who would attack him, since he had never had an argument with anyone.

“I don’t know how to draw a conclusion because I am just a workers’ representative,” he said.

Em Pheary, police chief for Steung Meanchey III commune, said authorities received information about the case on Tuesday and were looking into it, including checking if there were cameras at the scene.

“We need the victim to clarify so it is easy for authorities to investigate. If we don’t cover all bases, how can we investigate?” Pheary said.

Cambodian Labor Confederation president Ath Thorn said police were “skilled enough” to arrest the assailants by checking footage from nearby surveillance cameras that could be used as evidence.

He considered the assault against Sros just another threat against the apparel workers’ union stemming from Sros’ previous protests and defense of workers’ rights at the W&D factory.

“It is another unjust act,” Thorn said. “If violence happens, it affects the government’s effort in improving the condition of labor rights in Cambodia.”

VOD

Hundreds of community members, environmental activists, monks and civil society members were stopped by authorities from entering parts of the Prey Lang protected forest this afternoon. Several different groups of participants were stopped while traveling to the intended site of an annual Buddhist ceremony, which is held to raise awareness about illegal logging and conservation of Cambodia’s largest protected area.

Authorities from the Environment Ministry and local officials, some armed with guns, told several different groups across four provinces that they required permission from a “higher level” to be allowed to enter the forest and asked for “official permission letters” from participants. Such permission is not required by law.

Several participants also reported that local authorities threatened local villagers to pressure them not to allow participants to sleep in their villages during their travel or participate in the ceremony, which lasts for several days.

In contrast to today’s actions, just last week 500 officials from the Environment Ministry held an event in Prey Lang and encouraged youth activists and community members to take action in order to help conserve the forest, which spans Kratie, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces.

Community members were previously forced to cancel the annual event in 2018 due to threats from authorities. At the time, an Environment Ministry spokesperson said those fears were unfounded and told local media that his ministry would collaborate to protect the forest.

Licadho

A court in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh has rejected a request by two former RFA reporters to return their passports and identifying documents after an appellate court ruled last week to continue a reinvestigation into espionage charges against them, according to their lawyer.

Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin—who had worked as an editor, reporter and news anchor, and a photographer and videographer for RFA’s Khmer Service, respectively—were taken into custody in November 2017.

They were charged with “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” after RFA closed its bureau in the capital in September that year.

In a written verdict dated Jan. 28, which RFA’s Khmer Service obtained a copy of on Monday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court investigating judge Pich Vicheathor ruled that the court will not return the passports or identification cards of the two former RFA reporters as the reinvestigation into their charges continues.

Pich Vicheathor said that his decision was also made in accordance with recommendations by the prosecutor to dismiss the reporters’ request, which was filed by their defense lawyer, Sam Chamroeun, two weeks earlier in a bid to “reduce the illegal restrictions on their freedoms” after an appellate court removed their obligation of judicial supervision.

Sam Chamroeun told RFA Monday that he does not agree with the judge’s decision, saying that any confiscated items that are not being used as evidence should be returned to their owners, and that refusing to return their documents “seriously affects their ability to seek justice.”

“As of now there is no separate order to restrict their freedoms besides the past verdict that placed them under judicial supervision,” he noted.

“While they are not obligated to be kept under judicial supervision, the judge still decided not to return their passports and ID cards, which serve no purpose as evidence. Such a decision undeniably affects the justice of the case and affects the freedom of my clients.”

Sam Chamroeun said that in more than 15 years of work as an attorney he had never once seen a judge ruling to keep confiscated items that are irrelevant to a case, and especially not when the accused are no longer being kept under judicial supervision.

He urged the court to reconsider and return the reporters’ passports and identification cards immediately.

Reporters speak

Speaking to RFA on Monday, Yeang Sothearin said there is no need for the court to hold his documents because they do not constitute evidence of the charges against him and vowed to appeal the decision.

“The judge seemingly does not want to give back our freedom,” he said.

“I am not sure if he is angry with us about a certain issue. The judge should have leniently ruled on our cases and given us complete freedom. There is no advancement in the investigation process. They should have provided us back with our freedom so that we may enjoy our rights as normal citizens.”

Uon Chhin said he is disappointed with the decision, saying it indicates that his freedom remains restricted, despite being out on bail, and adding that he also plans to appeal the ruling.

“I’m very disappointed with this ruling which, in effect, means we both are still under judicial supervision,” he said.

“There is nothing different from being under judicial supervision if our passports and ID cards have not been returned.”

Local rights group and spokesperson for ADHOC Soeung Senkarona said he believes the court’s intent is to restrict the freedom of the two and called the decision a form of “discrimination.”

He said that the court should not keep the documents of the reporters because they have fully cooperated with the court throughout all stages of their trial.

“Their passports and ID cards are no longer necessary for the procedure of the court unless the two intend to escape and not to appear per summons from competent authorities or the court,” he said.

“In complete contrast, we see that the two have shown intentions of good cooperation with authorities and the court.”

Soeung Senkarona urged the court to accelerate a hearing on the merit of their case and if no sufficient evidence is presented, the court should “drop their cases and unconditionally render complete freedom for the two.”

High profile case

The two face charges of “illegally collecting information for a foreign source,” under Article 445 of the Criminal Code—an offense punishable by a prison term of from seven to 15 years. Additional charges were added in March 2018, alleging that the two men had illegally produced pornography.

On Dec. 30, the court rejected an appeal by the two reporters to halt a reinvestigation into the pornography case, allowing a new investigation into those charges to proceed.

RFA closed its nearly 20-year-old bureau in Phnom Penh on Sept. 12, 2017 amid a crackdown by the government that also saw the Supreme Court dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) a month later.

The move paved the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to sweep the ballot in national elections in 2018, effectively turning Cambodia into a one-party state.

Cambodian journalists working for RFA had reported over the years on corruption, illegal logging, and forced evictions, among other stories largely ignored by pro-government media, and authorities had already closed independent radio stations carrying RFA reports, using a pretext of tax and administrative violations.

The arrest of Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin came after a warning from Cambodia’s Ministries of Information and Interior that any journalists still working for RFA after its office in the capital closed would be treated as spies.

They were released on bail in August 2018, but were placed under court supervision, which barred them from changing their addresses or traveling abroad, and required them to check in with their local police station once a month.

Local and international rights groups and legal observers have long condemned the treatment of the pair in the courts as part of a wider attack on the media and civil society in Cambodia and called for the country's trade and aid partners to press for their release.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranked Cambodia 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.

RFA

Three land rights activists say they were beaten at the Banteay Meanchey provincial military police headquarters alongside a fellow detainee who later died after being transferred to the provincial prison.

Tuy Sros, 34, and four others were arrested on December 28 amid a protest in front of the provincial hall over a land dispute. Four days later, on January 1, Sros died while being transported from the prison to a hospital, according to local authorities and his family.

The provincial administration, in a statement dated January 1, claimed Sros had died from alcohol withdrawal.

But three of the four surviving detainees — An Ruon, Nov Noeun and Him Kiry — have since asked rights group Adhoc for legal help so they can take the military police to court, alleging violence at the hands of officers.

The five activists were “handcuffed and pushed into a car, and beaten, and pushed, necks twisted and beaten in the face,” Noeun told VOD on Sunday. “All five of us were pushed into a car and then dropped off in front of a flagpole. I supposed that we would stand to honor the national flag. We were made to sit in front of the flagpole. Then they lined us up and started kicking each of us three or four times. Me, they kicked three times and they added another punch and I lost a part of my tooth.”

Ruon, another of the activists, told VOD that the military police’s deputy provincial commander, Sar Bunsoeung, had ordered his subordinates to beat all five for answers. Noeun and Kiry made the same claim.

“They beat me repeatedly, bleeding all over my head. I got a cut on my eyelids from the beatings. They kneed me, kneed on the spine and dragged and beat me on the head, and then put a helmet on me, then dragged and twisted my neck,” Ruon said.

Sros’s wife Buy Kimlak and Yib Mak, the fifth detainee, could not be reached about why they had not joined the three others in seeking legal representation.

Kimlak, however, earlier told VOD that her husband’s corpse had bruises all over it. She had also visited him in prison after he was transferred from the military police headquarters to the provincial prison on December 31, and he was weak and barely conscious, she said.

She denied that he was unhealthy or an alcoholic, as the provincial administration claimed.

“He was a good man and very smart. He didn’t have any problems. He was working in business every day, buying chickens every day. And he went on patrol and patrolled every day because he was a village security guard,” Kimlak said.

Authorities passed responsibility between each other.

National military police spokesman Eng Hy denied the abuse accusations, saying the provincial military police headquarters had nothing to do with the alleged violence.

“I’ve already said that this case is not within the jurisdiction of the military police. This case is within the jurisdiction of the provincial authorities and therefore the provincial authorities can explain it,” Hy said.

Ung Siphan, director of the provincial prison, said Sros’s death had nothing to do with his prison.

Prison was not a place for forcing answers out of suspects; prison was just a place to hold people while waiting for court processes, he said.

“No, brother. We didn’t touch him. Frankly, we have thousands of prisoners coming in and out, and till now there’s no such history — we’ve never touched any prisoner,” Siphan said.

Provincial police chief Ath Khem said police were not involved in the case.

Bunsoeung, the deputy commander accused of ordering the violence, could not be reached for comment. Born Bin, provincial military police commander, could not be reached over five days. Banteay Meanchey governor Um Reatrey also could not be reached.

Adhoc provincial coordinator Soum Chankea said he had received the request for legal help from the three activists and would be preparing legal representation for them.

On December 28, about 200 protesters from Changha commune in O’Chrou district gathered in the provincial capital to claim that security forces had burned down villagers’ homes two days earlier. Sros’s wife, Kimlak, said about 200 families had been accused of encroaching on state land and were facing violence at the hands of authorities.

However, the provincial hall statement of January 1 said authorities had visited the families on December 16 to educate them that they had been cheated by brokers and were occupying privately owned land held by several different individuals. On December 26, the administration sent security forces “to crack down on the anarchic group and dismantle huts (which did not have people living in them, and were not houses).”

The group began to protest on the 27th and continued the next day, it said.

The five arrested activists were charged with intentional violence, with the four surviving men released on bail earlier this month.

VOD

Sath Chanbuth, a Rasmei Kampuchea Daily and Apsara TV journalist, appeared for questioning on Monday at the Mondulkiri provincial court on allegations of incitement and defamation in line with a lawsuit filed by Lieutenant Colonel Sophat Serivuthy.

The defendant was questioned by Mondulkiri provincial court prosecutor Eang Sokun over a video he released where he interviewed about 10 indigenous families of O’Raing district’s Dak Dam commune who accused Serivuthy of planting fence posts in an attempt to grab their land.

“The court must conduct a proper [and fair] investigation. I disseminated correct information and have a reliable source from among the residents,” Chanbuth said.

Mondulkiri provincial court prosecutor Mam Vanda said the questioning was a primary procedure to collect further evidence regarding the allegations filed by the plaintiff.

“We questioned him because we wanted to collect evidence regarding the complaint. We allowed relevant parties to show evidence. The defendant can testify and the plaintiff has the burden to prove the defendant’s guilt.

“A summons is a procedure of the court. But I don’t know yet when the court will summon him. We’ll have to check his testimony first,” he said.

The plaintiff’s lawyer Seng Singheng told The Post on Monday that in July this year, Chanbuth allegedly disseminated false information accusing his client of land encroachment. Serivuthy was said to have asked Chanbuth to amend his report and take down the video but the latter refused to do so.

“I expect the court will process it in accordance with the legal procedure,” he said.

Alliance of Cambodian Journalists (CamboJa) founder May Titthara said the plaintiff should have issued a statement to correct the report instead of taking the matter to court.

He said legal action against journalists posed a threat to freedom of the press.

“As a journalist, he [Chanbuth] must find relevant documents and credible sources to support his allegations [against Serivuthy]. He should also seek legal advice from a lawyer,” Titthara said.

Serivuthy could not be reached for comment.

Phnom Penh Post

The Cambodian authorities should immediately drop fabricated incitement charges against two former Cambodia Daily journalists, Human Rights Watch said today.

On December 13, the Rattanakiri provincial court set December 25 as the first trial date for Aun Pheap, 55, and Zsombor Peter, 41. Neither currently live in Cambodia. Their lawyer said he had never received notification from the court that the investigation had been completed and a trial was imminent.

“The decision to take Pheap and Peter’s case to trial seems intended to intimidate all of Cambodia’s journalists,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Prosecutors should drop these bogus charges and the government should end its efforts to restrict press freedom by criminalizing independent reporting.”

On August 28, 2017, the Rattanakiri provincial prosecutor filed “incitement to commit a felony” charges against both journalists. If convicted under articles 494 and 495 of Cambodia’s criminal code, they face up to two years in prison. Aun Pheap had been working as a reporter and Zsombor Peter as a reporter and associate editor at the Cambodia Daily. Both left Cambodia because of fears of being arbitrarily arrested and detained.

The case arose out of Pheap and Peter’s interviews with registered voters in Rattanakiri province prior to the Pate commune council elections on June 4, 2017. In 2012, Pate had been the only commune in the province that elected opposition political party candidates, leading local officials to tell journalists not to interview local residents. When Pheap and Peter refused the demand, the officials accused them of inciting voters to support the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

In June 2017, Pheap and Peter won the Excellence in Investigative Reporting award from the Society of Publishers in Asia for their reporting on military involvement in Cambodia’s illegal timber trade. Both had frequently written about illegal logging and government corruption in Rattanakiri and other provinces in Cambodia.

Government harassment of independent journalists has increased over the past two years, Human Rights Watch said. In July, Rattanakiri provincial authorities issued a letter demanding that all journalists report to them with identification and inform officials of their intentions before reporting on any stories in the province, VOD reported.

Two Radio Free Asia journalists, Uon Chin and Yeang Sothearin, continue to face baseless espionage charges, after being arbitrarily arrested and detained in 2017. While they were released under judicial supervision, the charges have not been dropped. On October 3, a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict them, but instead of dismissing the case, sent it back for re-investigation. On January 20, 2020, the Court of Appeal will hear Chin’s and Sothearin’s appeals of that decision.

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government has attacked and shut down independent media outlets. In September 2017, the Cambodia Daily, one of the country’s longstanding independent local newspapers, was forcibly shut after being handed a dubious unpaid tax bill of US$6.3 million. In May 2018, the government coerced the sale of the last independent local newspaper, the Phnom Penh Post, to a Malaysian businessman with reported ties to the Cambodian government by imposing a similarly questionable unpaid tax bill of US$3.9 million. The newspaper was subsequently transferred to a ruling Cambodian People’s Party member.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) closed its office in Phnom Penh in September 2017, after 20 years of operations in Cambodia, citing threats to its staff. A few days after RFA’s office closure, the Interior Ministry threatened journalists who had worked for RFA with legal action if they continued reporting for RFA.

“Cambodia’s persecution of journalists is sending a message that independent, investigative reporting is not only unwelcome, but could get you thrown in jail,” Robertson said. “The European Union and other foreign governments should publicly call for these charges to be dismissed and urge the government to allow journalists to do their jobs without harassment.”

HRW

Six representatives of villagers involved in a long-running land dispute with a sugar company in Koh Kong have been summoned for questioning again by the provincial court over disputed allegations brought by tycoon Heng Huy.

The six were initially summoned along with four others earlier this year over a complaint filed by Huy, who accused them of public defamation and incitement to commit a felony. Four of the 10 have been questioned while the six others asked for a delay at the time.

They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

Koh Kong Provincial Court prosecutor Ros Saram summoned three people to appear for questioning on December 17, and the other three on the following day, in court documents dated November 18 and received by the six representatives on Wednesday, said Chhan Chhoeun, one of the six.

Chhoeun told VOD on Friday that he was ready to testify in court as scheduled. He was not worried because he had done nothing wrong, he said.

“I will tell the court what the reality is. Mr. Heng Huy’s company really encroached on people’s land. How did I defame him?” Chhoeun said. “I only spoke about our land being encroached on.”

Chhoeun said 197 families from Sre Ambel district lost their land because Heng Huy Agriculture Group had encroached on their plots since 2007.

Huy could not be reached for comment.

Another land disputant representative, Ith Toeng, said it was unjust for the court to call villagers for questioning based on Huy’s complaint. He had encroached on people’s land, she said.

“The court seems to be biased in favor of an oknha, while hundreds of people, it has never investigated. [The court] never came to ask for the location of the people’s land but instead believed in the tycoon alone,” Toeng said.

She called on the government to resolve the land dispute and asked the court to consider canceling the summonses.

“I asked the court to clearly inspect before issuing summonses for us to see whether we really have a land dispute with Mr. Heng Huy or not, and please drop accusations against the 10 villagers,” she said.

Pen Vuthea, a monitor with human rights group Licadho in Koh Kong, said the summonses were a threat to keep people from protesting over their lost land.

In order to show concern for people, the government must resolve the dispute soon, and the court should drop the charges against the 10 representatives, otherwise people will continue to protest, Vuthea said.

“For the authorities, if there are still people protesting and going up to Phnom Penh to find a solution, it looks like the government is not finding a solution for people who are the landowners and have lost their land,” he said.

More than 300 people from Koh Kong protested in Phnom Penh this week, calling on the ministries of interior and land management to resolve their land disputes with companies that were granted concessions by the government, including Heng Huy.

In July, the Land Management Ministry rejected the claims of about 100 Koh Kong land protesters who demonstrated outside the ministry in Phnom Penh, and requested that legal action be taken against them.

Two VOD journalists were detained for three hours at the Poipet military police headquarters on Saturday after reporting on border security in the area.

CNRP acting president Sam Rainsy had vowed to attempt a return to Cambodia via Thailand that day, leading to the deployment of armed forces to the Thai border as well as dozens of arrests of CNRP supporters in the lead up.

Rainsy only got as far as Kuala Lumpur on November 9.

VOD reporter Vann Vichar said he and cameraman Chorn Chanren were detained by military police from about 3 to 6 p.m.

Officers went through all his equipment, including communications on his phone between him and his wife, Vichar said.

“After detaining me for about half an hour, they separated me from Chanren. They brought me to a room to question me and check my laptop and smartphone, going through all messages, group conversations and files,” he said.

“They listened to voice chats. After questioning, they wrote reports to send to their superiors. I don’t know how high it went,” Vichar added.

Poipet city governor Keat Hul and Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Um Reatrey declined to comment on the detentions. Poipet city military police commander Nuon Ninaro hung up on a reporter when contacted by VOD.

Information Ministry spokesmen Phos Sovann, Meas Sophorn and Ouk Kimseng could not be reached.

Ninaro, the military police commander, told Khmer Times that his officers had suspected the two journalists of being “involved” with Rainsy’s supporters.

“We just called them for questioning and then allowed them to go back,” Ninaro said.

In a statement on Sunday, the Cambodian Journalists Alliance, whose co-founders include VOD editors, said the journalists had at the time been interviewing fish sellers frustrated at being unable to cross the border.

The association’s executive director, May Titthara, added that the detentions amounted to a threat.

“The government and authorities must guarantee the rights of journalists by allowing them to report the news without fear,” Titthara said.

Cambodian Center for Human Rights coordinator Vann Sophath, who was also at the Poipet border at the time to monitor the situation, said journalists have the right to cover events happening in public places.

“Freedom of the press in Cambodia is not yet being broadly respected to an international standard,” Sophath said.

In recent years, Cambodia has steadily declined in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, falling from 137th worldwide in 2017 to 142nd last year and 143rd this year.

VOD

A Cambodian judge Thursday ordered a reinvestigation in the espionage case against two former Radio Free Asia journalists, saying he could not rule on their guilt or innocence without enough evidence.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Im Vannak ordered the new investigation on the day he was scheduled to deliver a verdict in the case against the two reporters, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin.

The 2-year-old case has added to concerns about a crackdown on criticism and dissent by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who extended his rule of more than three decades in a general election last year after the main opposition party leader was arrested on treason charges and his party banned.

In a statement, John Lansing - the out-going CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, the agency that oversees RFA and other U.S. international broadcasters such as VOA - called the court's action "unacceptable" and said the international community should respond accordingly.

"While these continuing acts of intimidation and repression are meant to instill fear, they only underscore USAGM'sresolutesupport forits journalists and networks, including RFA," Lansing's statement read. "Together, we will continue to provide the Cambodian people with accurate, objective and professional journalism and to shine a light on the political and humanitarian crises facing the country."

The two former reporters for Washington-based RFA were arrested in November 2017 and charged with espionage and producing pornography. They denied the charges.

Hun Sen has accused the United States of trying to end his rule.

RFA earlier in 2017 shut down its Phnom Penh office complaining of a “relentless crackdown on independent voices.”

VOA

On 3 September 2019 at 8h30 am, the Ratanakiri Provincial Court has unfairly summoned Mr. Pen Bunnar ADHOC Senior Officer to appear. He is accused for “incitement to commit crimes On June 2017, Seda’s community required the support of ADHOC concerning a land issue. Indeed, the community was trying to prevent land clearing in the Lumphat district and ADHOC is providing a legal support to the communities with their land rights issues in the course of a program financed by USAID. On June 22 and 23, 2017, the communities tried to obtain help from the authorities with the monitoring and support of ADHOC represented by Mr. Pen Bunn. Then considering the lack of interest concerning this case from the government, they determined that the legal way was the best option to solve this issue. Mr Pen Bunnar and other community members have lodged a complaint against the land clearers but the court refused to take its responsibilities in this case. Instead, a lawsuit was launched Mr Pen Bunnar the ADHOC’s member that was supporting communities.”. Tomorrow convocation is for the second trial since the defendant have been already summoned by the investigating judge Mr Sreng Simsorya on 12 August 2019. On the first trial, where Mr Pen Bunn wasn’t present or represented because he couldn’t hire a lawyer and come to Phnom Pen in time (he got informed very late). During this first court, a few community members lied, under the pressure of the trial, and told the court that Mr Pen Bunn he was encouraging people to clear the lands. In exchange, the accusers received the right to use the cleared land from the court. ADHOC is very concerned that Mr Pen Bunnar could face charges and/or arrest and detention under Article 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. This is a basic and vicious attempt to attack a defender of human rights and a violation of community’s rights. This trial is placed under the mark of corruption and is threatening a dedicated human right advocate from our organization. We call upon local, regional and international partners, embassies and UN representatives to intervene before the situation continues to deteriorate.

Two outspoken critics of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen are to be dragged to court this month on vague charges of "incitement to commit a crime," but the defendants say they have done nothing illegal. Prominent activist monk Luon Sovath received a summons dated Oct. 22 and signed by Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpeseth accusing him of "incitement to commit crimes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and abroad" in 2011, under Penal Code article 495. U.S.-based Cambodian dissident Sourn Serey Ratha, who leads the Khmer People Power Movement (KPPM)-a group labeled a terrorist organization by Phnom Penh-received a similar summons from the court dated the same day, also accusing him of incitement in 2011 in the Cambodian capital and abroad. Neither of the summonses, which ordered the two men to appear in court together in the capital on Nov. 25, specified what crimes they had incited or how their cases were linked. Under the Penal Code, incitement is vaguely defined in article 495 as directly provoking the commission of a crime or an act that creates "serious turmoil in society" through public speech, writings or drawings, or audio-visual telecommunication. The warrant sent to Sourn Serey Ratha also accused him of "creating a disturbance against voters" and "conspiracy" in the run up to the July 2013 general elections and beyond, though it did not elaborate on what acts the charges were related to. Prior to ballot, the KPPM had printed T-shirts with slogans urging the public not to vote amid allegations of widespread irregularities. In August 2013, the group had distributed leaflets calling on the Cambodian armed forces to turn their guns against the country's "dictator" instead of against mostly opposition supporters protesting over the disputed general elections. Luon Sovath faces up to five years in prison if convicted, while Sourn Serey Ratha faces a total maximum punishment of 15 years. Luon Sovath told RFA Monday that he would attend the hearing and said local nongovernmental organizations had provided him with two lawyers for his defense, but he questioned why he was facing criminal charges. "What is meant by an incitement to commit crimes?" he asked. "In Buddhism, incitement means to provoke people to kill, rob or lie, but what I have done? Has anyone seen me incite people?" Luon Sovath said that he had attended a United Nations conference in New York in 2011 where he met Sourn Serey Ratha "but I was not involved with what he does in the U.S.," referring to his group's aim of regime change in Cambodia. "I came with a human rights NGO to give a presentation on the land dispute issue in Cambodia," he said. Sourn Serey Ratha also denied the charges against him and told RFA from the U.S. that his lawyer would represent him at court in his absence. "Our struggle depends on international laws to fight against the dictatorship[in Cambodia]," he said. "We are not involved with any armed forces or illegal acts." An earlier hearing for both Luon Sovath and Sourn Serey Ratha had been scheduled for Sept. 18, but was delayed because the monk was traveling abroad. A report by the Cambodia Daily at the time cited Sourn Serey Ratha as saying that he had sponsored a trip by Luon Sovath to the U.S. in 2011 and helped raise nearly U.S. $30,000 for the monk's human rights work in Cambodia, but that they did not communicate after that. The report had quoted deputy prosecutor Meas Chanpeseth as saying that the two would be tried together because they are involved in the same case, without elaborating. Luon Sovath, who is known as the "multimedia monk," is known for his presence at protests against land grabs and election fraud where he regularly documents the events through video and photography. He became the first Southeast Asian recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2012, the aim of which is to provide protection through international recognition, according to the award's official website. Sourn Serey Ratha had filed, on behalf of the KPPM, a complaint with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) two years ago accusing Hun Sen of "crimes against humanity" but it was eventually dropped. The complaint alleged that the Cambodian government has forcibly evicted more than 100,000 people from land the group says they have "legal title" to, and that members of the government are personally profiting from the use and sale of such land. The U.S.-based group cited "credible reports" of beatings, unjustified imprisonment, and killings of individuals who question or legally resist the forced evictions. The KPPM's complaint is believed to have upset Hun Sen.

Radio Free Asia

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned two prominent union leaders for questioning on Friday October 24th over charges that they incited violence and property damage at a garment worker protest in Phnom Penh in January during which military police fatally shot at least five people. The summonses are dated October 9 and ask Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, and Yang Sophoan, who heads the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, to "bring any documents related to the case above if they have them." Mr. Chhun and Ms. Sophoan said they each received the summonses Monday 27th October and would attend the questioning session. They have both denied any wrongdoing and claimed they were not at the protest. However, Mr. Chhun on Monday added a slight caveat to his previous denial. "I am not worried about being arrested because I was not present at the demonstration," he said. "But if I was there, I am not guilty because I just joined to demand a higher minimum wage for workers." They and other union leaders facing the same charges are currently under court supervision, restricting their activities in the midst of ongoing garment sector wage negotiations between the unions, factories and government.

Cambodia Daily

On the afternoon of October 11th 2014, police in Oddar Meanchey beat a staff member from human rights organization Equitable Cambodia after they refused to allow officers to search their car without a warrant and gain access to a camera. Police stopped the car as it was transporting villagers back to their community, following interviews with Equitable Cambodia staff at an office belonging to ADHOC. Following the illegal search and beating of the staff, police confiscated the car and deleted a number of photos from the camera. The staff from Equitable Cambodia are now in Oddar Meanchey Provincial Police Station negotiating with police but are not currently detained. The violence comes after Equitable Cambodia staff were detained last month during a visit to Bos village in Oddar Meanchey, to investigate a case where approximately 100 families were affected when their rice fields were destroyed to make way for sugarcane plantations.

LICADHO Cambodia

Ath Thorn, head of Cambodia's largest independent labour union, was placed under court supervision yesterday, the second such prohibitive order for the union leader. A judge told Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), that he cannot attend public demonstrations, and must report to police once per month, along with other requirements. The court also ordered Pav Sina, head of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, and Chea Mony, who leads the Free Trade Union, to also stay away from demonstrations and check in under the same timeline. "It is not fair, because we have not done what[the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC)] and the authorities have accused us of," Thorn said, referring to the organisation behind the complaint, which was filed on behalf of some 170 factories affected by a nationwide garment worker strike from late December to early January of this year. A total of six union leaders are charged with several crimes, including intentional violence in aggravating circumstances, connected to the strike, which led to the deaths of at least five people. Charges against the union members are baseless, because they accuse them of committing acts at places they were not present, said Dave Welsh, country director of labour rights group Solidarity Center. Courts are charging union leaders with these crimes now to give the government leverage during minimum wage negotiations and ahead of the decision on next year's industry floor wage, which is expected by the end of October, Welsh said. "I think the basis for the charges and the issue of supervision are farcical," he added. "They're purely political and it's being done in the event that[the government decides on] a minimum wage that is not satisfactory to unions". Thorn was already under court supervision for a separate case in which he is a defendant, stemming from a strike at SL Garment Processing a few months before the nationwide protests last year. In that case, he is accused of inciting violence that injured the plaintiff, an SL security guard. One bystander was killed by stray gunfire from security forces during the strike. The C.CAWDU president already ignored the first court order on Wednesday, when he led a small march favouring a $177 minimum wage next year.

Phnom Penh Post

On Tuesday, 9 Sept. 2014, Cambodian authorities detained two employees of Equitable Cambodia (EC) without just cause. Ms. Meg Fukuzawa, a research consultant who has dual citizenship in the United States and Japan, and Mr. Lida Sok, a Cambodian research officer, had been in Oddar Meanchey province since last Monday to conduct field research on the human rights impacts of forced evictions resulting from the development of industrial sugarcane plantations. The plantations are owned by the Mitr Phol Group, one of Coca-Cola's top three global suppliers. Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok were working to collect research data to provide to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, which is investigating Mitr Phol's activities in Cambodia. Around 4:30 p.m., four police vehicles attended Bos village where Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok had been conducting their research. In 2008, the rice fields of approximately 100 families in Bos village were seized to make way for sugarcane plantations. When officers approached the researchers, they immediately asked Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok to accompany them to the Oddar Meanchey provincial police station. The officers' requests were denied, as by then, it was dark and the EC staff were concerned about traveling by motorcycle at night. An hour later, Long Sokun, the Deputy Police Chief of Oddar Meanchey, arrived at the village and asked to see Ms. Fukuzawa's immigration documents. Ms. Fukuzawa did not have her passport in her immediate possession. At approximately 8:30 p.m., a police vehicle attended Bos village and Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok were transported under duress to the provincial police station. The officers did not inform them of the reason for their detention, nor was an arrest warrant produced. They were held in police custody and interrogated about their research activities for over three hours, after which Mr. Sok was released from police custody. However, he chose to remain with his colleague to act as her translator and to provide support while she remained in custody. At the police station, Ms. Fukuzawa attempted to show both Mr. Long Sokun and his assistant scanned copies of her Japanese and American passports, which were sent to Mr. Sok's telephone. On both occasions, she was told that it was not necessary to provide such documents. Ms. Fukuzawa was held in police custody overnight and transported to the Department of Immigration in Phnom Penh on the morning of 10 Sept. 2014. After an interview was conducted with the Director of the Department of Immigration, Ms. Fukuzawa was released from police custody at 3:30 p.m. Police indicated to the researchers that they were asked to leave the village for their own safety because it was a remote area. Neither Ms. Fukuzawa nor Mr. Sok were concerned about their safety while undertaking their research at the village. The community members had treated the visitors with respect and hospitality. It was only after police arrived and detained them against their will that Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok felt their safety was at risk. Ultimately, the authorities claimed that Ms. Fukuzawa was detained because she could not produce her original passport when questioned by the police in Oddar Meanchey. No charges were laid nor fines imposed. Equitable Cambodia condemns the arbitrary detention of its employees, both in Oddar Meanchey and Phnom Penh. The absence of a passport upon request by police does not result in criminal sanctions. Moreover, neither individual was engaging in illegal activities. As such, there were no credible grounds to justify Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok's detention in police custody, the former lasting nearly 24 hours. Without warrant or reasonable grounds to seek detention, police and immigration officers violated Ms. Fukuzawa and Mr. Sok's constitutional right to not be arbitrarily detained and deprived them of their liberty without just cause.[ We the undersigned condemn the continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in Cambodia. We call upon the competent authorities to investigate those responsible for ordering the illegal and unjust detention of Meg Fukuzawa and Lida Sok.

LICADHO Cambodia

This morning at around 9.20am, four community activists from Boeung Kak Lake Community were arrested at Wat Chas, Chrouy Changvae district. The activists had arrived to support rural land communities from Pailin, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang and Svay Rieng, who are preparing a march to petition the National Assembly and Prime Minister Hun Sen this morning. The four activists arrested are Song Sreyleap, Tep Vanny, Kek Chanrasmey and Kong Chantha. They are currently being detained at Chroy Chong Va district office. Authorities have now locked the communities inside the grounds of Wat Chas. Update: The Supreme Court today upheld the convictions of three Boeung Kak activists - including Tep Vanny - for allegedly obstructing and insulting public officials during a 2011 demonstration outside Phnom Penh City Hall. Their six month sentences were also upheld. Vanny, Bo Chhorvy and Kong Chantha were originally sentenced in September 2016, five years after an effort by some 100 community activists to deliver a petition to City Hall grew violent when security forces tried to disperse them. Authorities accused them and another activist, Heng Mom, of attacking and "insulting" security officials. According to a statement from rights NGO Licadho, neither the plaintiff's lawyers nor witnesses were present during the appeal process. "As in earlier court hearings on this case, insufficient evidence was presented to meet the legal standards for proof," the statement reads. The statement also notes that no "enforcement order" was issued, meaning Chhorvy and Chantha can be arrested at any time to serve their sentences. Vanny has been in Prey Sar prison since August 2016, and is already serving a 30-month sentence for her alleged role in a demonstration outside Prime Minister Hun Sen's house.

LICADHO Cambodia | Phnom Penh Post

This morning approximately 100 land activists from Borei Keila, Lor Peang and Boeung Kak Lake communities marched to the Council of Ministers to submit petitions for the resolution of their respective land disputes. Their peaceful assembly was disrupted by riot police and Daun Penh district security guards, who temporarily detained three activists amid an unsuccessful push to disperse people. This morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen plans to meet at the Council of Ministers with a number of top officials to discuss unresolved land disputes across the country.

LICADHO Cambodia

When the ruling CPP and opposition CNRP sat down Monday for a third round of electoral reform talks, the ruling party took a surprising new direction in its policy priorities. Rather than bring up voter lists, electoral bodies or access to the media, the CPP delegation wanted to talk about the political neutrality of civil society groups-particularly those who report on the country's democratic process. -News Analysis The CPP proposed a law to ensure the neutrality of civil society organizations and a review of independent election monitors working in Cambodia. Many had released reports highly critical of July's national election. "It is very serious when the civil society groups are not neutral, because it creates a very bad impact on the public and elections," said CPP lawmaker Sik Bunhok. "We are not targeting on any particular NGOs and civil society organizations, but we want to see them all respect the law and be responsible for doing anything wrong," he said. "Thus, we need to write in the law a requirement that any civil society groups must be responsible before the law if their claims... cause problems with the election," Mr. Bunhok added. A group of 12 civil society groups, calling themselves the Electoral Reform Alliance, released in December the Joint-Report on the Conduct of the 2013 Cambodian Elections, the most comprehensive analysis thus far of the July's fiercely disputed national election. The report, using information gathered by six election monitoring groups, showed that widespread election irregularities- including flawed voter lists and extensive distribution of temporary identity cards-ultimately favored the CPP, which officially won the election with 68 out of 123 National Assembly seats. The CNRP has boycotted parliament since it was convened in September, demanding that the CPP either agree to an investigation into the election or hold a new election before 2018. As the CPP fought off claims from the opposition that its government is illegitimate due to the flawed elections, the ERA report-and its authors-have been placed at the center of Cambodia's ongoing political quarrel. In a 60-page response to the ERA report in January, the Council of Ministers proclaimed that the civil society groups behind it, which include many of the country's most prominent election and human rights NGOs, were collaborating with the CNRP. "The Joint-Report which was compiled based on the research by various so-called "independent organizations,' whose agents are also called "independent,' does not reflect the adherence to those principles and neither do the current activities of these NGOs in Cambodia," the Council of Ministers response said. The response went on to say that the post-election efforts by the CNRP to undermine the credibility of July's election "were planned and designed in close cooperation with a number of non-governmental organizations allied with the CNRP, which have received technical, financial and political support from abroad." Although the newly formed CPP government has promised deep reforms, it has continued to confuse criticism with political opposition, said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, a contributor to the ERA report. "[The CPP] doesn't want any report regarding election irregularities," Mr Panha said. "They want to see a legitimate[election] outcome. They want to say "Everything is perfect. The election is free and fair and everything is fine.'" "But there have been complaints from the public, so they should deal with that," he continued. "They should recognize the problem and then move forward, otherwise how can they reform?" Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former president of the Center for Social Development, said that the tension between the ruling party and civil society groups is a function of the CPP's refusal to embrace democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution. "Neutrality[among civil society groups] is to say what you are supposed to say based on democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability, not because of political bias," she said. "From the ruling party's point of view...all that is considered biased," she added. Thun Saray, president of local rights group Adhoc, said that, in the absence of independent electoral institutions within the government, the role of civil society groups as a check on the ruling party's power was critical. "Civil society has to be neutral and independent from both parties, but when we see the elephant try to step on the mouse we cannot keep silent," Mr. Saray said. "We have to speak when we see injustice or unfairness," he added. "If we keep silent we are not neutral anymore, we are on the side of the elephant."

Cambodia Daily

A worker with the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) has been intimidated and received death threats while trying to document the plight of three families involved in a bitter land dispute with a developer in the country's capital, according to the center. The worker, Vann Sophath, was shooting a video at the dispute site in Phnom Penh's Sangkat Boueng Kak 1 on May 9 when he was confronted by around six civilians known to work as security guards for the developer, Khun Sear Import Export Company, CCHR said in a statement. "Vann Sophath went to the site while the Khun Sear Company security guards were demolishing the home of one of the three families," the statement said. "He was interrupted by a group of Khun Sear Company security guards, who were armed with knives, axes and hammers. They pushed him out of the site as other[s] threatened to cut him on the head." CCHR said that one of the security guards screamed at Vann Sophath, saying, "Old fool! I will not allow you to be free" and ordered others to take photos of the worker and his car's license plate. Vann Sophath left the site shortly after being threatened. CCHR plans to file a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against the Khun Sear guards because of the threats made against Vann Sophath, said Chhay Chhunly, project coordinator for CCHR's Human Rights Defenders Project, which closely tracks those working to protect human rights in Cambodia "We think this is a serious threat," she told RFA's Khmer Service. "This group is a brutal group. They have attacked the villagers[involved in the land dispute with the company]." Chhay Chhunly said that the security guards had also threatened other rights activists, but that they had targeted Vann Sophath because he was filming the three families at the site. "We want to produce a documentary which profiles the victim families," she said. Earlier incident Vann Sophath and his team first visited Sangkat Boueng Kak 1 on April 25 to begin shooting interviews with the family of Ly Sreakheng-one of the three households involved in the dispute with the Khun Sear Import Export Company, which has offices on property adjacent to their homes and has been seeking to extend its property to include the residents' land. During the shoot, around 10 company security guards "tried to interrupt by verbally attacking Mr. Sreakheng," CCHR said, while one of them photographed the team, focusing on Vann Sophath's face. CCHR said that Ly Sreakheng and the two other families have been living on the plot since 1982, prior to which it had been occupied by the Vietnamese army after invading Cambodia in 1979 and driving out the notorious Khmer Rouge regime. The three families have repeatedly attempted to register the land under the country's 2001 Land Law, but have been ignored by the authorities, CCHR said. On Oct. 4, 2010, Cambodia's Council of Ministers granted the land to Khun Sear and, in order to facilitate the transfer, the Phnom Penh municipal government in 2013 issued a certificate stating that the site belongs to the state. Since then, Khun Sear has claimed ownership of the land and has repeatedly harassed the three families, destroying crops, disconnecting electricity, damaging property and beating the residents, CCHR said. In October last year, ahead of a protest march on City Hall by dozens of residents involved in land disputes in the capital, the three families found three poisonous cobra snakes had been placed near their homes. Days earlier, after company employees had threatened the families about killing their pets, two of their cats and one of their dogs were poisoned to death and left on the doorstep, unidentified persons sprayed insecticide on one of the houses, and others harassed customers at one of the families' businesses, according to a statement by rights groups. Ly Sreakheng and his family members have requested intervention from nongovernmental organizations, including CCHR, regarding security and mediation in finding a solution to the land dispute. Bitter problem Land disputes are a bitter problem for Cambodia, where rural villagers and urban dwellers alike have been mired in conflicts that the U.N.'s special rapporteur for human rights to Cambodia has warned could threaten the country's stability. The country's land issues date from the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime, which forced large-scale evacuations and relocations, followed by a period of mass confusion over land rights and the formation of squatter communities when the refugees returned in the 1990s after a decade of civil war.

Radio Free Asia

After refusing for days to disclose the location of 23 protesters arrested last week and then charged in court, prison officials revealed Wednesday that the group is being held in a notorious jail in Kompong Cham province. Ten people were arrested on Thursday and a further 13 were arrested on Friday during protests by striking workers that saw at least five people shot dead by military police. Keo Sovanna, chief of Kom�_pong Cham's Correctional Center 3 (CC3), confirmed speculation earlier this week by rights groups Adhoc and Licadho that the 23 protesters-who have not yet been convicted of any crime-are being held at his maximum security jail. "We've detained them in the same building[here], since we don't have the rooms available to detain them separately," he said. Mr. Sovanna declined to comment further when asked about the health conditions or treatment of the 23 prisoners. The group includes union leaders, activists and striking workers, who have been charged at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with the intentional destruction of property and intentional violence under aggravating circumstances. On Monday, Licadho and the Community Legal Education Center described the CC3 facility as "among the harshest prisons in Cambodia." Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor with Licadho, said that medical teams from his organization had visited the CC3 prison Wednesday and met with the prisoners. Each member of the group had been beaten both before and after their arrest, he said. "Vorn Pao's condition is the most serious," Mr. Sam Ath said, referring to a prominent union leader who heads the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association. "He recently had a kidney operation, and he has been repeatedly kicked in the area and has severe pain at the site of the operation. All the others detained have been badly beaten too." Chan Soveth, senior investigator at Adhoc, said a team from his organization had also seen the 23 and confirmed all had been repeatedly kicked and beaten. Mr. Soveth questioned why pre-trial detainees had been sent to a maximum security prison hours from Phnom Penh. "CC3 is a place where inmates convicted of serious crimes and then sentenced to at least 10-year prison terms are detained," Mr. Soveth said. "It is very abnormal that the courts and prison departments have detained the 23 people who have been charged there while they are only in pretrial detention." Kuy Bunsorn, director-general of the general prisons department at the Ministry of Interior, who refused to disclose the location of the 23 prisoners earlier this week, said it was not abnormal that the prisoners had been sent to CC3, which lies almost two hours east of Kompong Cham City. "Under the French, prisoners were taken to Koh Tralach prison where nobody could reach them or see them," Mr. Bunsorn said, referring to a colonial prison island off Cambodia's southwestern coast that is today a part of Vietnam. UPDATE 24/03/2014: Bail denied for the protestors. Several of the protestors are in a poor state of health due to the fact that they had been subjected to police brutality during the violent crackdown on protests. Only two of the original 23 activists arrested have been released. UPDATE 01/04/14: On April 18 2014, the 21 activists will be tried in 3 seperate trials. On April 4 2014, a Phnom Penh court will consider the request for medical leave of Sokun Sombath Piseth of the Center for Labor Rights of Cambodia. His hand was badly broken in the course of his arrest, but he has been denied medical care since. UPDATE 04/04/14: Vorn Pao and Sokun Sombath Piseth have had their bail requests rejected again in two seperate rulings. Piseth's hand requires urgent surgery after beatings he received upon his arrest, but his bail request was rejected due to CC3 prison's failure to provide sufficient details about his condition. According to the latest information, all of the 23 workers and rights defenders, including Pao and Piseth, will be tried at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court at 8am on April 18. UPDATE 07/05/2014: The trial of the activists has once again been delayed, this time to May 20th. After a day of trial on April 25, the trial had been rescheduled until May 6th, when it was again delayed. The trial sessions at this time were heavily criticized by NGO observers, who noted that judges displayed an open bias towards the prosecution. Exchanges between the prosecution and the defence became heated and the court decided that purportedly in the interests of the defendants' security the trial should be delayed. UPDATE 09/05/2014: On 9 May 2014, the Supreme Court of Cambodia upheld the February 11 Court of Appeals decision to deny the 21 detained workers and labor rights activists bail. UPDATE 30/05/2014: the 23 were given suspended sentences of between 1 and 4 years and released. 4 of the 23 were ordered to pay fines of 8 million Riel (2000 USD).

Cambodia Daily | VOA News | LICADHO Cambodia | LICADHO Cambodia | Radio Free Asia | LICADHO Cambodia | Huffington Post

A Cambodian journalist who exposed illegal logging and forest crimes involving the local elite has been murdered, police said Wednesday, after his battered body was found in the trunk of his car. Hang Serei Oudom, 42, a reporter for the local Virakchum Khmer Daily newspaper, had been missing since Sunday afternoon and his body was found on Tuesday in northeastern Cambodia's Ratanakiri province, said Ek Vun, the police chief for Balung City, the provincial capital. Authorities are working to identify suspects involved in the murder of the reporter, who had recently written a string of stories about deforestation and timber smuggling in Ratanakiri, where logging and mining in recent years have taken a big toll on the environment. "We have already collected the necessary evidence and we are investigating the case," provincial governor Pao Ham Phan said. Police also found the reporter's camera and press card in the car, which was abandoned at a cashew plantation. The Ratanakiri-based reporter had been beaten with sticks and had bruises on his head and other parts of his body, Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) provincial investigator Chhay Thy said. Intimidation The Club of Cambodian Journalists condemned the murder as a threat to freedom of expression in the country and appealed to the authorities to arrest those responsible. "The Club of Cambodian Journalists regards the murder as an attempt to intimidate professional journalists. The suspects also attempted to obstruct journalists from upholding freedom of press and expression," the group said in a statement. In his most recent article on Sept. 6, Hang Serei Oudom accused the son of a military police commander of smuggling logs in military-plated vehicles and extorting money from people who were legally transporting wood, according to Agence France-Presse. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights and Southeast Asian Press Alliance issued a joint statement calling for a thorough investigation into the case, saying the reporter had uncovered several cases linked to the country's powerful, well-connected elite.Illegal logging Hang Serei Oudom's murder follows the death in April of environmental activist Chut Wutty, who was gunned down while investigating illegal logging in southwestern Cambodia's Koh Kong province. According to military police, Chut Wutty had been leading two journalists from a local newspaper to show them what he thought were illegal logging activities when he was killed. A security guard from a logging company was charged in connection with the murder, but conflicting accounts given by the authorities about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death prompted calls from rights groups for a thorough investigation. Rights groups said Hang Serei Oudom was the first Cambodian journalist killed since 2008, when reporter Khim Sambo and his son were shot dead in Phnom Penh. Khim Sambo, who wrote for the pro-opposition Moneakseka Khmer newspaper, had published an article on nepotism and corruption within Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party. Police have completed Hang Serei Oudom's autopsy and sent his body to the family for the funeral. They have still not established the motive for the murder.

Radio Free Asia | Radio Free Asia

Outspoken land activist Kuch Veng will regain his freedom in 15 days after the Pursat provincial court yesterday handed down a guilty verdict with a one-year sentence, then suspended nearly three quarters of that term. Veng has been in prison since May 19 on charges of fraud that rights groups and supporters believe to be politically motivated and tied to his activism against developer Pheapimex. Long Lun, Veng's lawyer, said the court had insufficient evidence against his client and he was considering launching an appeal. Veng stands accused of having defrauded a villager of $4,500 in 2010. His arrest came following a series of protests against Pheapimex, which is owned by Choeung Sopheap, wife of CPP senator Lao Meng Khin. Thousands in Pursat and Kampong Chhnang have been affected by the company's vast economic land concessions, and many have accused it of further land grabbing. Veng's verdict was originally set to be handed down last month, but the judge postponed it after hundreds of villagers camped outside the court in support of the activist. Only 30 appeared yesterday in the hopes of forestalling further delay, a community representative said. Lon Serey, a community representative from Krakor district who attended the hearing and verdict decision, said the judge appeared to disregard substantial evidence in Veng's favour. "This decision is very unfair," Serey said. Rights group Adhoc offered a similar conclusion, saying there had been insufficient proof of Veng's guilt. "If we listen to the hearing, the judge did not have evidence to incriminate," Pursat provincial coordinator Phuong Sothea said. Presiding judge Mao Sina could not be reached for comment.

Front Line Defenders | Phnom Penh Post

Police said Sunday they have arrested four people believed to be involved in a conspiracy hatched by a dissident Khmer-American group plotting to topple the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Two men and two women were arrested on Thursday suspected of at�_tempting to hand out 1,000 yellow roses to soldiers and police across the city along with small cards urging them to turn their weapons "against the despot," the national police said in a statement on Saturday. The campaign was organized by the Khmer People Power Movement (KPPM), the same U.S.-based group that ordered the printing of hundreds of polo shirts urging Cambodians not to vote in last month's national elections and for which three others remain in pre-trial detention. The government has often accused the group of attempting to organize a private army to topple the regime, though it has yet to provide any evidence. "On August 15 the competent authorities arrested four suspects who were producing and distributing hundreds of leaflets with content to incite armed violence to overthrow the Royal Government," the national police said in the statement. The suspects, it added, "distributed the leaflets following orders from Sourn Serey Rotha who remains abroad, is president of the Khmer People Power Move�_ment, and has established illegal armed forces and was summoned by the court on the charge of in�_citement to commit a felony." The statement did not name the suspects or specify their alleged crimes. Nor did it provide evidence of the illegal armed forces supposedly created by KPPM. In separate comments posted to the national police website, spokesman Kirth Chantharith said the suspects were all charged with Article 495 of the Criminal Code, which covers incitement to commit a felony and carries a prison sentence of up to two years. Contacted on Sunday, Mr. Chantharith declined to provide their names and referred questions to the Phnom Penh Munic�_ipal Court. Court officials handling the case could not be reached. Contacted in the U.S. by phone, Mr. Serey Rotha admitted to or�_dering the flowers and cards in the hope of sparking a "rose revolution" across Cambodia. Addressed to "every heroic soldier" and titled "The Nonviolent Rose for Change," the cards read: "Turn your guns against the despot and sacrifice your life to protect the people who have the same Khmer blood because Cambodian troops and Cambodian people are Khmer and we have to protect each other." The "despot" Mr. Serey Rotha was referring to was Mr. Hun Sen. He and his group have accused the prime minister of running sham national elections-including last month's, which show a win for Mr. Hun Sen's ruling CPP but re�_main mired in unresolved reports of widespread irregularities. His group has also tried convincing the International Criminal Court to try Mr. Hun Sen for alleged crimes against humanity in relation to land evictions. "The dictator never falls down by the polling paper; the dictator always falls by the power of the people," Mr. Serey Rotha said. Having lost faith in the ballot box, he said his "rose revolution" was looking instead to the Arab Spring for inspiration. "The Arab countries can rise up to change the dictator, why not in Cambodia?" he said. But Mr. Serey Rotha maintained that he was advocating a non-violent approach because he was calling on soldiers and police to protect the people from the violence of the government. "That's non-violent because they point to protect the people.... Who[are] the people? They[are] the innocent people," he said. "We propose the non-violent weapon, and the non-violent weapon is the flower and the pen." Mr. Serey Rotha condemned the four arrests on Thursday and called on Cambodia's foreign donors to pressure the government into releasing the suspects. Earlier this month, opposition CNRP president Sam Rainsy posted comments to his Facebook page calling on police and soldiers to "stand up" with the people and "demand" a change of government. Facing accusations from the government of trying to incite a coup, Mr. Rainsy has denied any violent intent. He posted the messages in the wake of a military buildup in Phnom Penh to prepare for the mass demonstrations the CNRP-which also claims to have won last month's election-is planning to call unless the CPP concedes defeat. In a statement Sunday, the CNRP condemned Thursday's KPPM arrests and also called for the suspects' release. "This action strongly violates private rights and the freedom of expression of the people, which are guaranteed by the law and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia," it said. Though national police did not name the suspects, rights groups, relatives and commune police identified them as: Hiv Borin, 33; Tut Chanpanha, 30; Sok Dalis, 28; and Lim Lypaeng, 32. Human rights group Licadho, which is providing legal representation for Mr. Chanpanha and Ms. Dalis, said all four suspects were questioned by the court on Saturday and charged the same day under both articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. Am Sam Ath, a technical supervisor for Licadho, said Mr. Chanpanha and Ms. Dalis had committed no crime. He said they were part of group of friends formulating their own plans online to hand out flowers to soldiers and police-along with a much tamer note-when Mr. Serey Rotha offered to supply the flowers but made no mention of his own, far more militant cards to go with them. He said Mr. Chanpanha and Ms. Dalis were both arrested while picking up the flowers and had no cards with them at the time. "They came to pick up the flowers and they had nothing to do with the[cards], and when they were arrested they were not holding the[cards] in their hands," Mr. Sam Ath said. "They just wanted to give the flowers with a message of peace for the nation. They did not incite; they just called for peace." Ms. Lypaeng's husband, Kao Sokchea, who runs a printing shop with his wife, professed her innocence Sunday. Speaking inside their small shop on Street 169, Mr. Sokchea said he was not there on Wednesday when a man-a regular customer whose name he claimed not to know-came to his wife with his order for the cards. He said his wife was summoned for questioning at the commune police station the next day and subsequently arrested. "It's not right because my wife was not involved in any conspiracy," he said. "My shop did not make the design. I trusted him[the man who placed the order] and did not read the card because he was a long-time client."

Cambodia Daily | Phnom Penh Post

IN a brutal show of force, dozens of police and thugs dressed in civilian clothes descended on a peaceful vigil at Wat Phnom last night, and set upon the roughly 20 protesters with slingshots, batons and electric prods. At least six people were injured, while an additional five were treated at Calmette Hospital for slight wounds. An unknown number of people - journalists and rights workers among them - sustained injuries from electric prods and marbles fired from slingshots by men in facemasks who appeared to be under police protection. The forces arrived at about 10pm last night, just as the protesters were clearing up the area where they had staged a demonstration for peace - spelling out the word "justice" with candles. As they left the area, according to witnesses, police and a group of young men began shooting marbles into the group with slingshots. "They were hidden behind the stupa and wearing civilian clothing," Boeung Kak activist Bo Chorvy said. Several witnesses said the group appeared to be intent on catching high-profile activist Tep Vanny, who ran into a car when the clash began and was allowed through the gates of the US Embassy - only after the windows of the car had been smashed in by the attackers. Her mother, Si Heap, was among those badly wounded after a longan-sized marble was slung between her eyes. Also seriously injured was activist Nhet Khun, 73, who was shot in the chest with a marble and may have suffered a lung injury, according to witnesses at Calmette. Doctors were not immediately available for comment. "The police arrived with[electric prods] and ran after me and my friend and began kicking him," said Phan Chunreth, who sustained a head injury after being kicked to the ground by police. "It was the police who did that, but the other men came at us with sticks." As journalists and human rights workers approached the scene shortly after 10pm, thugs armed with electric batons, sticks and slingshots chased them down the street while police looked on. Several journalists and rights workers were shocked with the electric prods and hit with marbles as they ran away, while a Post journalist had his camera smashed. According to Chorvy, a US Embassy vehicle attempted to enter the area but was forced to turn around by police. Stunning as the brutality was, however, a marked lack of police presence chilled many. Unlike at the incidents at Stung Meanchey and the Kbal Thnal overpass, few - if any - officers were sent to the scene after violence broke out. Over the course of an hour and a half, only a single truck carrying a dozen military police officers drove through the nearly deserted streets leading to Wat Phnom. "I think they're trying to kill all Cambodians," an agitated Bopha Vi said, while watching the thugs wave tasers in the air in the distance. "The boys try to kill us and the police try too." Military police spokesman Kheng Tito said he was unaware of the incident but defended the actions saying, "the people wanted to do something, but our force stopped[them], would not allow them to do anything." On 27 September 2013, a Joint Urgent Appeal was issued by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Cambodian government has not responded.

Phnom Penh Post | Committee to Protect Journalist | UN OHCHR

Land activists who were brutally cracked down on at a protest in September submitted video and pictorial evidence of masked suspects slinging marbles, beating and electric shocking them to Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday. The group of 70 Borei Keila and Boeung Kak activists are suing Phnom Penh officials for their alleged involvement in the attack on a peaceful vigil at Wat Phnom in September by plain-clothed men as a large security detail stood guard. Eleven people were injured in the unprompted clash, including journalists and rights workers. Su Sophal, who sustained injuries from the crackdown, said he and nine other victims filed a lawsuit at the municipal court last month against four Daun Penh district officials: Sok Penhvuth, deputy chief; Kim Vutha, director of order and regulation; Pich Socheata, council official; and Soa Nol, deputy police chief. "In the morning[yesterday], we took evidence including nine photos and a CD which show the intentional abuse by the suspects ... and handed them to the[municipal] court," Su Sophal said. Meas Chanpiseth, deputy prosecutor, received the evidence and told the protesters that officials are investigating. The protesters also submitted the additional evidence to the national police. Since the Wat Phnom attack on September 22, police and other security officials have frequently employed violence to disrupt land dispute protests, most recently at City Hall on Wednesday. "The court seems to not take up any measures to protect the land activists who are arrested and detained one after one because of those police officials," housing rights activist Tep Vanny said. "However, we hope that the lawsuit will be considered by the court and that the truth will be found. We will get justice." Sok Penhvuth, Daun Penh district deputy chief, and Pich Socheata, an official at Daun Penh district hall, could not be reached for comment.

Phnom Penh Post

A prominent Cambodian housing rights activist was released on bail Friday after more than a year in prison, but says she has not yet been served "full justice" and fears she could still be sent back to jail. Yorm Bopha, held on charges widely condemned as trumped up to silence her activism, left Phnom Penh's PG Jail after the country's top court ordered her case re-investigated. The Supreme Court ruled the outspoken 30-year-old mother of one, who campaigned for the rights of evictees from Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak community, should be temporarily released pending a review of her case by the Court of Appeal. Rights groups had demanded her unconditional release, saying there was no evidence to support her conviction on charges of taking part in the beating of two men last year. Stepping out of her jail cell to a cheering crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic supporters, Yorm Bopha hugged her son and husband and broke down crying. "I welcome the Supreme Court's verdict ordering me released temporarily, but I have not received justice yet because the Supreme Court has sent my case back to the Court of Appeal," she told RFA's Khmer Service. "I was only released temporarily, and I am not satisfied because I haven't yet received justice in full." She said she feared she could still be re-imprisoned after the appeal hearing. Rights groups welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to release her, but urged the Court of Appeals to free her unconditionally and clear her name. "It has been clear from the very beginning of this case that Yorm Bopha has been targeted for her activism in the context of the Boeng Kak community's struggle for their rights," Cambodian Center for Human Rights director Ou Virak said in a statement. "While today's decision to temporarily release Bopha from jail is a welcome step, we must urge the Appeal Court to act quickly and to put an end to the suffering of Bopha and her family once and for all." Yorm Bopha's case has drawn widespread attention inside and outside the country since she was arrested in September last year, with thousands signing Amnesty International petitions calling for her release. "Yorm Bopha's case is symbolic of a worrying trend in Cambodia over recent years where human rights defenders face harassment, threats, arrest, imprisonment and worse for their peaceful activism," said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International's Researcher on Cambodia who attended Friday's appeal hearing. "She should never have been imprisoned, locked up and separated from her young son and family," he said in a statement. Yorm Bopha was convicted of "intentional violence" in December last year and sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly ordering an attack on two motorbike taxi drivers she said she did not even know. This June, the Court of Appeal ruled that Yorm Bopha was not a direct perpetrator of the assault but the instigator behind it, reducing her sentence to two years. Unsatisfied with the decision, Yorm Bopha took her case to the Supreme Court, outside of which some 100 supporters gathered to await Friday's verdict. After a several-hour hearing, Supreme Court Judge Khem Ponn said the Appeals Court must reinvestigate the case because the evidence was inconclusive. The plaintiffs' father, Vann Sarath, who had filed the complaints against Yorm Bopha, said he was disappointed with the decision and wanted the activist to remain behind bars. "Yorm Bopha is released temporarily only because of court procedures. As the victim's father, I am not satisfied and it is unfair to the victims," he said. Rights groups have said the case is aimed at intimidating protesters from Boeung Kak-where thousands were pushed out of their homes after the government leased to a development company in 2007-and other land rights campaigners into dropping their protests. Forced evictions across the country have displaced thousands of families and prompted protests and violent clashes between residents and armed security forces.

World Organisation Against Torture

After nearly two years of silence on its draft NGO Law, the Ministry of Interior on Sunday said it was aiming to have the highly contentious piece of legislation ready for the Council of Ministers early next year and voted on by July. Meas Sarim, deputy director-general of the Interior Ministry's local administration department, said they also hope to consult once again with NGOs about the bill before it reaches the Council of Ministers. Asked when the bill would reach the Council, Mr. Sarim replied, "Probably 2014, in the first quarter of the year, and in the first half of the year we will pass the law." The Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations would require NGOs to register with the government in order to have legal standing, set minimum conditions for who can form such groups and require them to file reports on their activities and finances each year. However, NGOs fear the government will use the bill's vague wording to clamp down on groups it perceives to be too critical of the ruling CPP, and few draft laws have attracted as much international criticism in recent years. In early 2011, the country director of the USAID warned that the U.S. might refuse to increase its aid to Cambodia if the government passed the bill as it stood at the time. Later that year, the U.N.'s human rights envoy to Cambodia, Surya Subedi, urged the government not to pass it. The U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said the law risked "undermining" human rights in Cambodia, as it extended to the government broad discretion to reject an NGO's application, and lacked an appeal process. Amid intense international pressure, and with critical commune and national elections on the horizon, Prime Minister Hun Sen in late 2011 said the government was in no rush to pass the law and would wait until 2014. On Sunday, Mr. Sarim of the Interior Ministry said the government still needed the law to ensure that NGOs followed relevant rules and regulations and to keep track of the thousands of nongovernmental groups at work in the country. "Previously some NGOs did not follow the Interior Ministry's regulations," he said. "Some NGOs were operating but did not inform the ministry of their activities. If the ministry doesn't know of their activity, the ministry cannot manage them." Naly Pilorge, director of the human rights NGO Licadho, said Cambodia already had enough laws to regulate nongovernment groups and had no practical need for another. With the opposition CNRP still refusing to take its 55 seats at the National Assembly in protest over July's national election, she said it was also the wrong time for parliament to table such legislation. "In light of existing legislation to provide legal and tax regulations on NGOs, such as the 2011 civil code, and the absence of elected opposition MPs[members of parliament] in the National Assembly, we believe any attempt to draft and pass an Association and NGO law would be another attempt by the ruling party to eliminate and stifle selective civil society groups," she said, especially those working on human rights, evictions and other sensitive issues. "There is enough legislation now to ensure accountability and transparency of associations and NGOs without introducing another law which aims to control and restrict rather than enable and protect," she added.

Cambodia Daily

Authorities in northwestern Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province on Tuesday summoned a former local representative of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) after he and others gathered in support of the return of acting party chief Sam Rainsy from self-imposed exile. Ly Soun, ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) deputy chief of Svay Chek commune, questioned CNRP commune seat representative Minh Hor and two other members of the party-which was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November 2017-in a bid to force them to end their support for the return of Sam Rainsy, Minh Hor told RFA's Khmer Service, adding that he will not be intimidated by authorities. Minh Hor had held the public "unity strengthening gathering," which was attended by about 30 CNRP supporters, on Feb. 28 to discuss how to welcome Sam Rainsy back to Cambodia, where he has pledged to return from more than three years of exile to in 2019, despite threats by Prime Minister Hun Sen to arrest him for a host of convictions that are widely seen as politically motivated. According to Minh Hor, Ly Soun asked the three CNRP members on Tuesday why they held an event to show support for Sam Rainsy's return, and whether the acting CNRP president "joined the meeting" by phone or video conference. The CNRP representative said that despite the efforts of the local authorities to intimidate him by questioning them, "their tactic didn't work" because he and other party members had already "sacrificed themselves for the country" and believe that "only Sam Rainsy and[former CNRP president] Kem Sokha can restore Cambodia's democracy." "I am very disappointed by the authorities' actions, but our spirits are strong and we cannot be intimidated, despite the many threats from Hun Sen that he will "destroy' the opposition party," he said. "Our spirits are strong and we are united," he added. Hun Sen on Monday said that Kem Sokha will not be released from detention despite hitting the 18-month maximum allowed by law in pre-trial detention, a move denounced by the opposition as a violation of the constitution. Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017 for alleged acts of "treason" and the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the CNRP two months later, which paved the way for Hun Sen's CPP to win all 125 seats in parliament in a July 2018 general election. CNRP activist Yat Phyrom, who witnessed Tuesday's questioning, agreed with Minh Hor's assessment that the move was part of a bid to intimidate the opposition. "As I a citizen, I will continue my activities[with the opposition party] to protect the constitution, which states that people have the rights to freedom of expression and assembly," he said. Svay Chek commune chief Chrouk Sophal confirmed to RFA on Tuesday that she had summoned and questioned the CNRP activists, but said that it was in connection with a comment Minh Hor had posted on Facebook that defamed local authorities involved in a land dispute, and had nothing to do with politics. "It was about defamation," she said, adding that she could not provide any further comment, as she was busy with a meeting. Sum Chankea, Banteay Meanchey provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, told RFA that Cambodia's constitution protects the right of the people to gather and their freedom of expression, and that the CNRP activists were not in breach of the law by holding the event in support of Sam Rainsy. Police officers or local authorities who abuse those rights, on the other hand, are violating the law, he added. "Authorities dare to[question] people because there is no institution that will prosecute them for doing so," he said. "In a democracy, those who abuse the freedom of expression are held accountable." Call for removal In an interview with RFA on Monday, Sam Rainsy called on his supporters, as well as the workers and farmers of Cambodia, to "stand up" and "peacefully bring down the Hun Sen regime" if the prime minister fails to reverse course on a crackdown on the political opposition, independent media and NGOs in effect since the lead up to last year's general election. The U.S. has since announced visa bans on individuals seen as limiting democracy in the country, as part of a series of measures aimed at pressuring Cambodia to reverse course, and the European Union, which was the second biggest trade partner of Cambodia in 2017, has said it will drop a preferential trade scheme for Cambodian exports based on the country's election environment. Sam Rainsy again pledged to return home within the year, "as long as global pressure remains at its peak," saying that Hun Sen is facing "political suicide" if international sanctions are leveled on Cambodia, and that he is willing to consider working with the CPP to resolve the political crisis if the prime minister-who has ruled the country for more than three decades-is first "removed from office." "The CNRP does not demand a regime change-we extend an embrace towards the ruling party, as only these two parties can determine the destiny of Cambodia," he said. "We are considering working with the CPP, but we request that Hun Sen be removed. Removal of Hun Sen is the first step." Speaking to RFA from Finland, political commentator Kim Sok said that the two sides should hold talks to resolve the political crisis with the national interest in mind. "As for conditions for the talks, I think it should be about promoting democracy-a democracy with fair competition, which is a standard in democracies," he said.

Radio Free Asia

Cambodia's Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday arrested a member of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party after he posted a Facebook message saying the European Union plans to impose a tariff on Cambodian rice, sources in the country said. Kong Mas, a political activist from Svay Rieng province, was taken into custody at a coffee shop in the capital Phnom Penh by around 10 officers accompanied by a government prosecutor, fellow CNRP member Em Sokvan told RFA's Khmer Service. "The police said they were arresting him because of his Facebook post. They said they wanted to question him," Em Sokvan, who had been drinking coffee with Kong Mas when he was detained, told RFA. Police offered no further details on the reasons for the arrest, Em Sokvan said, adding that Kong Mas is now being held at National Police Commission headquarters in Phnom Penh. Reached for comment, national police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun denied knowledge of the arrest. But speaking to RFA, Kong Mas's lawyer Sam Sokong said his client will be held for questioning for 24 hours before attorneys or family members will be allowed to meet with him. "Police told me that he has been accused of "incitement,' but I don't know what that means," he said. In a Facebook posting on Wednesday, Kong Mas said that EU officials plan to impose a tariff on Cambodian rice of $200 per ton. The EU move, which includes Myanmar and targets a surge in imports of rice from both countries, sets a three-year period in which tariffs, set in the first year at 175 euros (U.S. $200) per ton, will decline in the second year to 150 euros and in the third year to 125 euros, media sources say. The policy goes into effect this week. Politically sensitive Threatened EU trade sanctions are a politically sensitive topic in Cambodia, which banned the CNRP and jailed its leader in 2017, paving the way for Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats on offer in parliamentary elections in July 2018. According to the European Commission, the EU ranked in 2017 as Cambodia's second-largest trade partner, importing goods worth 5 billion euros (U.S. $5.8 billion) from the country. Key EU imports from Cambodia include textiles, footwear, and agricultural products. Speaking to RFA on Jan. 16, CNRP activist Sun Makara described the arrest of Kong Mas as "politically motivated," calling the opposition activist a brave man unafraid of intimidation by authorities. "The authorities used to call Kong Mas to offer him a position[in Hun Sen's government], but he always refused," he said, adding, "He has really done nothing wrong." Also speaking to RFA, Soeng San Karuna-spokesman for the Cambodia-based rights group Adhoc-said that if authorities have arrested Kong Mas simply for posting on Facebook, they will have violated the country's constitution. "If they take actions like these against dissidents, they have violated human rights," he said. Petition to work Also on Wednesday, former National Election Commission member and advisor to the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association Rong Chhun filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, asking that the court reverse a move by the Ministry of Education to refuse permission to 10 CNRP-affiliated teachers to work. Elected to commune council positions before their party was dissolved by Supreme Court order in 2017, the 10 had petitioned to be allowed to resume teaching, but were turned down. "We want the court to annul the Ministry of Education's decision," Rong Chhun said. Meanwhile, Cambodian king Norodom Sihamoni on Tuesday issued statements rehabilitating two former opposition politicians, Kong Koam and his son Kong Bora, allowing them to return to political life in Cambodia. The two were among 118 officials slapped with a five-year suspension of political rights as part of a decision by the Supreme Court in November 2017 to dissolve the CNRP for its role in an alleged plot to topple the government. Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP then ran effectively uncontested in July 29, 2018 general elections, drawing condemnation from Western nations who called the ballot unfree and unfair amid a wide crackdown on the political opposition and other rollbacks on democracy. Speaking to RFA, political analyst Kim Sok called the politicians' reinstatement a defeat for plans by Hun Sen to weaken the CNRP, now organized and active in exile, by allowing opposition officials to return to politics only if they each make individual requests for a "pardon." "Hun Sen has failed in his plans, because only two people have now asked to go back into politics," Kim Sok said.

Radio Free Asia

Ninety-five NGOs have issued a joint statement condemning the convictions of six union leaders for their roles in a minimum wage protest at Veng Sreng Boulevard in Phnom Penh in 2013. On December 11, Ath Thorn, Chea Mony, Mam Nhim, Pav Sina, Rong Chhun and Yang Sophorn were each handed two-and-a-half year suspended prison sentences by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and ordered to pay compensation of 35 million riel ($8,750) to two victims, Chea Sophany and Tim Vuthy. The four original charges against the union leaders - intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances; intentionally causing damage with aggravating circumstances; threats to destroy property followed by an order; and blocking public traffic - had all been changed to charges of instigating the acts. The NGOs' statement criticised the court for not providing sufficient credible evidence. "At trial, prosecutors failed to produce any evidence to establish that the six had committed the crimes they were charged with, nor were any witnesses produced to prove the accused had acted violently during the protests." "Importantly, no evidence was submitted to prove that the six union leaders had instigated any of the acts with which they were charged. Further, none of the actual perpetrators of violence or damage were named or charged," the statement read." The NGOs urged the government to guarantee fundamental rights and permit the reopening of public spaces in order to allow genuine freedom of association for the Cambodian people and to ensure that independent trade unions can freely operate in the interests of their members. Pav Sina, the president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said he had already filed a complaint to the Appeal Court on December 18. The NGOs' statement called for the convictions against the six union leaders to be immediately quashed. "While the delivered sentences do not require the six convicted leaders to go to prison, they face imprisonment on these charges if they commit any other felony or misdemeanour within the next five years - a period that coincides with the next national elections in 2023." "As the criminal charges stem from independent trade union activity, we are concerned these suspended sentences will be used to imprison the convicted union leaders if they engage in any protest action over the next five years," the NGOs wrote. The president of the Cambodia Alliance of Trade Union Yang Sophorn said she had also filed an appeal last week and welcomed the NGOs' statement. "I am happy that the NGOs support our work. We were not involved in any activities destroying anyone's property," she said. Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin considered the statement an example of freedom of expression. "It's their right to issue[the statement] but dropping the charges is the court's decision and the decision has already been made," he said.

Phnompenh Post

On Monday 5 November 2018, Mr. Poek Sophorn, a staff member of non-governmental organization Ponlok Khmer, was presented with a summons to appear for questioning at the Preah Vihear Provincial Court on 14 November 2018, over charges of being an accomplice to arrest, detention and unlawful confinement (Articles 29 and 253 of the Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Cambodia). According to the information contained in the summons, the charges relate to events which took place back in 29 December 2014 in Prame commune, Tbaeng Mean Chey district, Preah Vihear province. No further details are provided in the summons, which contravenes Mr. Sophorn's right to know the charges against him. The summons did not contain the correct family name and personal details of Mr. Sophorn, who declined to accept the summons and asked the police to bring it back to the Court for corrections. On the same day, Mr. Lut Sang, another Ponlok Khmer worker, was informed that the local police tried to deliver a summons to him as well. He was on field mission at the time and therefore has not received the summons. He is unaware of the charges associated with this summons. Ponlok Khmer is a small NGO based in Preah Vihear province, that works to promote sustainable development and the protection of Cambodia's natural resources, including by empowering vulnerable and indigenous people to ensure the protection of their rights. In addition, at least four community members from the Kui indigenous group in Prame commune also received summonses on 5 November 2018 to appear at the Provincial Court on the same day as Mr. Sophorn. They are summonsed over charges of arrest, detention and unlawful confinement (Article 253 of the Criminal Code) in relation to acts allegedly committed on 29 December 2014 in Prame commune. It has been reported that a total of ten community members received the said-summonses, however CCHR was only able to see four of them. Since 2012, the commune of Prame has been the theatre of a land dispute involving the local Kui indigenous community and two companies, Lan Feng and Ruy Feng in relation to two economic land concessions attributed in 2011 for the purposes of growing rubber, acacia and sugar cane, and located on the Kui indigenous community's ancestral land. On 29 December 2014, bulldozers came to clear out the farmlands of the villagers for the ELC. The villagers, who have been awaiting a resolution to the land dispute, stopped the bulldozers in an effort to attract the attention of the authorities and the companies and to resume negotiations for a dispute resolution. In the absence of any reaction, on 30 December, the villagers pressured the bulldozer drivers to drive back to Prame commune, to meet with the authorities. The bulldozers' drivers left with the authorities on that day. As no resolution was found, the community members refused for the bulldozers to be taken away. The bulldozers were kept at the commune office till 2017, where they were reportedly taken away by the authorities as evidence for further proceedings. Mr. Lut Sang and several community members have already summoned for questioning over the 29 December 2014 events, back in June 2015, in relation to charges of arrest, detention and unlawful confinement. Since no further development occurred since, they believed that the case had been closed.

Cambodian Center for Human Rights-CCHR

Cambodian workers taking part in protests against Prime Minister Hun Sen in other countries should be identified and beaten by gangsters or made to suffer "traffic accidents," a ruling party official says in a recording taken from a phone call, and now circulating widely on Facebook. Speaking in a minute-long sound bite, Labor Ministry spokesperson Heng Sour urges an unidentified colleague to set up a network to target and attack Cambodian migrant workers opposed to Hun Sen, who recently won re-election in a national vote widely condemned as unfree and unfair because he had banned the only credible opposition party before the vote. "Let's find some gangsters and thugs and then use them to beat up the identified targets. Just do whatever you can to break them down," Heng Sour says, adding that if the attackers are later arrested, they will probably be sent back to Cambodia after serving short terms in jail. "And when they return to our country, we will feed and support them," he said. Citing protests by Cambodians working in Japan during Hun Sen's visit to Tokyo at the beginning of October, Heng Sour noted that protesters had destroyed a large photo of the prime minister, adding that a subordinate named Sreng had now learned the names of leading activists involved. "Now we will take action against them," Heng Sour said. "And if they come back[to Cambodia], we will make sure that they suffer traffic accidents." "We cannot tolerate those who insult our leader," he said. Spreading fear Speaking to RFA's Khmer Service, Son Seyha, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian Association of Cambodia and a representative of Cambodian workers in Thailand, said that Heng Sour's threats have already spread fear among Cambodians working abroad. "I urge the government of Cambodia to get to the truth in this case," he said, noting that Heng Sour has already denied the voice on the recording is his and has blamed the controversy on a plot against him by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). "This is a matter of life and death for Cambodians working in South Korea and in other countries, and for those still in Cambodia who support the CNRP," he said. Speaking from Japan, CNRP activist Hay Vanna told RFA he has already notified Japanese authorities regarding the threat, adding that he knows the man named Sreng mentioned in the recording. "I know the suspect named Sreng," Hay Vanna said. "He fled Cambodia to live in Japan when Cambodia fell to the communist regime." "But now he has returned to Cambodia and works to bring Cambodian workers to Japan, and I guess he has worked very closely with Heng Sour to do this," he said. Also speaking to RFA, Yim Sinorn, a CNRP activist and representative of Cambodian workers in South Korea, said that he has now translated Heng Sour's sound bite and given it to authorities in South Korea, adding that he knows Heng Sour and has spoken to him in the past. "I used to respect him," Yim Sinorn said. "But I am very surprised after listening to the vicious death threats contained in this recording." "His plan to kill[Hun Sen's] opponents and set up traffic accidents to hurt people should never have come from an educated person like him." "I cannot accept this," he said. According to Cambodia's Labor Ministry and NGOs, about 1.6 million Cambodians were working in Thailand in early 2018, with nearly 6,000 shown working in South Korea and 2,300 in Japan the year before.

Radio Free Asia

(Jakarta, 27 September 2018) - The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), CIVICUS, Freedom House, and Front Line Defenders condemn yesterday's conviction of four human rights defenders from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and a National Election Committee (NEC) official, in what we see as a clear attack against their legitimate human rights work. On 26 September 2018, senior ADHOC staff members - Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, Lim Mony, and Yi Soksan - were convicted of "bribery of a witness' under Article 548 of the Criminal Code, while a NEC official and former ADHOC staff member Ny Chakrya was found guilty as an accomplice under Articles 29 and 548 of the same Criminal Code. Each has been given a five-year sentence by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, with 14 months and one day considered served and the rest of the sentence suspended. The accused have longstanding histories of promoting human rights in Cambodia, supporting victims of human rights violations and survivors of gender-based violence. In 2017, they were selected as finalists for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders,[1] in recognition of their important work. This wrongful conviction adds to the long list of attempts by the Cambodian Government to curb fundamental freedoms and dissenting opinion by orchestrating intimidation, prosecution, and imprisonment of human rights defenders.[2] The case relates to the legitimate assistance provided to a victim of government harassment in 2016, which was within the mandate of ADHOC's human rights work. The one-day trial[3] on 18 this month that led to the conviction failed to provide necessary evidence for a conviction, as five witnesses were absent. There was a glaring absence of a cross-examination that undermines their rights of the defence, and the prosecution failed to ascertain whether Chandaraty, the victim ADHOC supported in this case, was a suspect or witness at the time of the alleged bribery. These facts leading to yesterday's conviction, point to a clear retribution against legitimate human rights work, and a failure of the judiciary system in Cambodia to protect defenders. Since April 2016, the accused had spent 427 days in arbitrary pre-trial detention, a clear violation of their right to the presumption of innocence, a well-recognised principle that is affirmed in international human rights framework and Article 38 of the Cambodian Constitution. While in pre-trial detention, Ny Sokha, Nay Vanda, and Yi Soksan were also arbitrarily denied access to medical treatment.[4] Following their release on bail in June 2017, they have been unable to continue their work due to the constant fear of being sent back to prison without a confirmed trial date. We call on the Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally overturn these convictions, and for them to be afforded adequate remedy for the extended period spent in arbitrary pre-trial detention, in line with international standards. We call on the Cambodian Government to ensure an enabling environment for all human rights defenders to work without fear, and for the full practice of fundamental rights and freedoms.

FORUM-ASIA

Australian film-maker James Ricketson has been found guilty of espionage in Cambodia and sentenced to six years in jail. His family say they are devastated at his conviction and sentence, and have called on the Australian government to pressure Cambodia to release him. Ricketson, 69, said he had worked as a journalist and video documenter in the south-east Asian country since 1995 and was arrested in June 2017 for flying a drone at a political rally. He has been incarcerated since then, with the guilty verdict given this morning by a three-judge panel in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Prosecutors said Ricketson used journalism as a front for spying, citing links to former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Cambodian National Rescue party (CNRP). The CNRP was Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's party's (CPP) main political opposition until it was dissolved last November. The prosecution also accused Ricketson of treason, saying he planned to overthrow Hun and illegally give information to foreign governments. Prosecutors did not name the states he was alleged to have colluded with despite Ricketson repeatedly asking them to do so during his trial. Ricketson, who made films about poverty and financially supported poor Cambodians he befriended, called the spy claims "fanciful and ludicrous". His lawyer, Kong Sam Oun, said: "James has done a lot of good here, nothing to do with spying. It is impossible to be a spy for 22 years." Before the verdict was given this morning Ricketson said: "I hope I am free today and I could go home." Bim Ricketson, James' nephew, said his family was devastated. He said his uncle was a part of the Cambodian community and loved the country's people. "He goes there regularly and has done for 22 years. Capturing the lives of the poor people there and helping them. And for that to be interpreted somehow as espionage is completely mad." "There's no way he is a spy." Bim Ricketson said the family was relying on the Australian government to pressure Cambodia to release him. "We are looking for a lot more support moving forward from the new Australian government. We know ... they have their attention on this and that they are working on it but now really is the time for a lot of support to be shown and as much pressure as possible to be brought to it, to find some kind of way out of this. "We are looking forward to what the government can do to help us at this point. There is a lot I'm sure that can be done and they are in contact with us." Ricketson's family said his health had deteriorated badly over 14 months in prison, and "we would be very concerned about his health over six years in those conditions". "I don't know where we go from here," Ricketson's brother said. Speaking from Jakarta, prime minister Scott Morrison said the former foreign minister Julie Bishop had made direct approaches to the Cambodian government, and said the government would remain involved in Ricketson's case. "It is best to deal with these things calmly and directly," Morrison said. "He can expect to give all the consular and other support from the government you would expect in these circumstances." Foreign minister Marise Payne said the Australian government would continue to provide Ricketson full consular assistance during this "particularly stressful time". She said there were still appeal avenues open to the Australian citizen. "Mr Ricketson is subject to legal proceedings under Cambodian law and must now consider his response to the court's decision using the avenues open to him. "The Australian government will consider what further appropriate support we can provide after that time." The Cambodian prime minister, who in July won a landslide victory in an election decried as undemocratic by critics, has orchestrated an intense crackdown on free speech and the media in Cambodia. In the past two weeks Hun released around 20 political opponents jailed on what critics claimed were political charges, a move that Ricketson's supporters hoped increased the chances of him being freed. He has closed newspapers and overseen the jailing of journalists, politicians and social media commenters deemed to threaten government rule. Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director Phil Robertson condemned the Australian government's "softly-quietly" approach towards Cambodia, and other autocratic regimes in south-east Asia, arguing it was not only morally bankrupt but also entirely ineffective. "The Australian government just let Cambodia walk all over them by failing to publicly and consistently challenge this ludicrous charade and demand Ricketson's immediate and unconditional release." Robertson said Ricketson's trial and sentence "exposed everything that's wrong with the Cambodian judicial system". He said court cases in Cambodia were characterised by ridiculously excessive charges, prosecutors with little or no evidence, and judges carrying out political orders from the government rather than ruling based on what happens in court. "When it comes to a conviction in a Cambodian court, clearly no facts are required. From day one, James Ricketson has been a scapegoat in Hun Sen's false narrative of a so-called "colour revolution' used as an excuse to crack down on the political opposition and civil society critics." The Australian Directors Guild has also called on the Australian government to intervene on Ricketson's behalf to have him brought home to Australia. "We call on the new foreign minister, Marise Payne, to contact her counterpart in Cambodia and seek clemency for James and for him to be sent home," chief executive Kingston Anderson said. "Based on the evidence and what we know of James we do not believe he was spying for anyone."

The Guardian

VOD article states that General Dept of Taxes (GDT headed by Kong Vibol) has filed complaint to Anti Corruption Unit (ACU headed by Om Yieng Teang) against Thun Saray/President of ADHOC & his wife claiming they have not paid taxes on their rental property, ADHOC office, for 2015 & 2016. In article, ADHOC Senior Monitoring staff said that if GDT could not find any documents related to the taxes paid by ADHOC, it should have asked ADHOC to verify rather than filing a complaint to ACU which is beyond its authority

VOD Hot News

On 20 July 2018, ADHOC, FA member's website was hacked. ADHOC's website homepage was defaced by the hacker.

Cambodia Daily |[Radio Free Asia] https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hacked-07192018173610.htm

Last week, LICADHO staff discovered a strange phenomenon when trying to access the Phnom Penh Post website. When visiting the site, a malicious code impersonating Google (misspelled Gooogle) attempted to trick users into granting full access to their Gmail inboxes to an unknown third party called GTransfers. LICADHO analysed the code which was hidden within a legitimate script file (theme.js) hosted on the Phnom Penh Post website and forwarded its findings to partners in the region. The tampering with the website was independently confirmed by cyber security experts - including industry leader FireEye - in an ABC article. [Screenshot of the malicious overlay, as seen on the Phnom Penh Post site, claiming to be Google.] Enlarge this picture Screenshot of the malicious overlay, as seen on the Phnom Penh Post site, claiming to be Google. The presence of the sophisticated code on the Phnom Penh Post website - which was removed within the last 24 hours - can be independently verified through a US-based website called Wayback Machine which allows users to see archived versions of websites across time. As seen on this daily archive for the month of May, starting 8 May, a malicious line of code was present in the script file. The line disappeared on 15 May and LICADHO is no longer targeted by the above-described attack. Dates are all in universal time, which is used by Wayback Machine.

LICADHO Cambodia

An environmental activist based in the Areng valley region of southwest Cambodia's Koh Kong province on Tuesday urged authorities to launch an investigation into an attempt on his life over the weekend, saying he is no longer safe in his own home and expects his would-be killers will strike again. An unknown assailant fired several shots at activist Ven Eth at around 10:00 p.m. on May 12 as he walked around 10 meters (33 feet) from his home in Chrak Russey village, in Thmar Baing district's Chum Noap commune, to his outdoor toilet. The gunfire missed him, but struck the wall of his bathroom, he told RFA's Khmer Service, adding that he fled the area shortly afterwards to stay with an acquaintance. "I think that if I continue to stay there, they will surely return to try to kill me again-this person will not abandon their plan," Ven Eth said. "I call on competent authorities to investigate the matter and monitor this case, so as to identify the person who attempted to assassinate me. I want to return safely to my village." According to Ven Eth, his assailant may have been politically motivated-as he is a former member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November over an alleged plot to topple the government-or sought revenge against him for his work exposing illegal deforestation. "Firstly, I am former CNRP member-I was lobbied to defect to[the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) after the dissolution of the CNRP], but ... I always refused, which has angered people," he said. "Moreover, I am also an environmental activist. This also angered people since those who destroy forests and those who protect them are always at odds." The attempt on Ven Eth's life came following a legal complaint he had lodged with local authorities in connection with what he said was an April 17 death threat made against him by Tel Chan, the vice-chief of Chum Noap and a member of the CPP. Ven Eth said he had initially lodged his complaint with Chum Noap Administrative Police Station, but received no resolution, so he moved himself, his wife and his children into hiding to protect their safety. After spending two weeks in an undisclosed location, he had returned to his village last week without his family to testify at the Thmar Baing Administrative Police Station about the death threat, and the failure of commune authorities to adequately look into the case. Ven Eth said that the two sides had "agreed to a compromise" and his case was "resolved" on May 9, but nonetheless, the attempt was made on his life three days later. "I thought that when Tel Chan made an agreement to ensure my safety, everything was resolved, plus, the issue was widely known, so I assumed that no one would dare do anything," he said. "I returned to clean before bringing my wife back home, and it was then that these people unexpectedly decided to get revenge and go ahead with their attempt on my life. So, at this time, I can't return home until the situation is fixed." In addition to pursuing complaints with the Chum Noap and Thmar Baing Administrative Police Stations, Ven Eth said he intends to ask for help from human rights organizations. He said he doesn't expect local authorities to intervene on his behalf, because they have no interest in seeing his case settled. In the meantime, while he remains in hiding, his family is running short on funds and his children are unable to attend school, he said. Authorities in Chum Noap and Thmar Baing were not immediately available to comment on Ven Eth's case. Dedicated campaigner Huor, a legal advocate with local rights group Licadho, told RFA that the authorities were obligated to investigate Ven Eth's case to a satisfactory conclusion, according to Cambodian law. "Moreover, they must seek various measures to ensure his safety, since Ven Eth wants to return to his home, instead of having to flee and remain in hiding like this," Huor said. "He has never had any dispute with anyone for as long as he has been living in Chum Noap commune ... until this threat. It seems to me that the relevant parties are exactly those who were involved in the same[threat] case, and should be subject to investigation in order to determine the truth." Lim Kim Soar, an environmental activist who regularly works in the Areng valley, told RFA that Ven Eth is a dedicated campaigner who regularly advocated against the construction of the controversial Chhay Areng dam, which opponents say would force more than 300 ethnic minority families off of their ancestral lands and destroy the habitats of endangered animals. She said that Ven Eth's case has caused other activists working in the region to fear for their own safety. "I always thought that this village and commune were safe, until I saw that regular citizens were at risk of being shot at like this," Lim Kim Soar said. "Now,[Ven Eth] has fled the village where he used to live, leaving his house locked. His house used to be a place for people to gather to drink coffee ... but now it is quiet. I feel so sorry for him." The attempt on Ven Eth's life came weeks after supporters held a low-profile ceremony in the capital Phnom Penh to mark the sixth anniversary of the still-unsolved murder of Cambodian environmental activist Chut Wutty. Shot to death on April 26, 2012 while investigating illegal logging in Koh Kong's Mondul Seima district, Chut Wutty had been active in organizing communities to protect Cambodian forests against land grabs. He had also campaigned against the government's granting of land concessions in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Noting that an official investigation into his father's death was closed in October 2013 when a court in Koh Kong province abruptly ended its proceedings, Chut Wutty's son vowed at the time to continue to fight for justice in his father's case.

Radio Free Asia

Several senior staff at Cambodia's Phnom Penh Post have resigned after the publication's new owner fired the editor-in-chief and demanded a story be retracted, prompting further fears over eroding press freedom in the country. Editor Kay Kimsong said he had been fired for allowing the publication of a story on Sunday concerning the paper's sale to Malaysian businessman Sivakumar S Ganapathy. The article, which ran under the headline "Phnom Penh Post sold to Malaysian investor", raised concerns over Ganapathy's links to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Malaysian government. Ganapathy is the managing director of a Malasyia-based public relations firm, ASIA PR, which lists "Cambodia and Hun Sen's entry into the Government seat" as a former "project". More than 20 current and former staff members signed a statement on Monday expressing their "disgust" after "representatives of the new owners" went to the Post's offices and "ordered" staff to remove the article from the newspaper's website. At least four senior Post personnel, including its managing editor and web editor, resigned in protest. As of 19:00 GMT on Monday, the article had not been removed from the Post's website. Editorial independence under threat Kimsong, a Post employee for the past 10 years, told the Associated Press news agency that he had done "nothing wrong" to warrant his removal. "The owner has complained that I allowed the editorial team to publish the story of the buying and selling of the paper that affected to the interests of the paper as well as the image of the owner," Kimsong said. "I acted according to journalistic professionalism, but the company said they cannot keep me in my position." Al Jazeera understands Ganapathy, who is described by Asia PR's website as "a journalist by discipline and qualification" with international experience, will issue a statement within the next 24 hours regarding the article, and staffing at the Post. Erin Handley, a reporter for the Post, told Al Jazeera the paper's new ownership appeared to be clamping down on editorial independence despite having pledged during the takeover not to do so. "When the sale was made, we were promised there would be no dismissals or changes of staff to begin with,[and] what is really key is the promise we had of editorial independence," Handley said. "Now, we are worried about our editorial independence heading into this year's national elections. The main opposition party has been dissolved and in the past year Cambodia has lost a lot of independent media, so we were widely considered to be the last independent news outlet here." 'Disastrous day for press freedom' Bill Clough, chairman of Post Media Ltd, publisher of the Phnom Penh Post, announced the paper's sale to Ganapathy in a statement on Saturday. "Recent times have been a challenge, as the worldwide decline in market share for newspaper advertising has also been felt here in Cambodia," Clough said, adding that the Post was part of "the last remaining truly independent media group in the country". The value of the sale has not been disclosed. Phil Robertson, deputy director of international NGO Human Rights Watch, said events at the Post following Ganapathy's takeover had been "disastrous". "So much for the pledge[by Ganapathy] to respect the editorial independence of the @phnompenhpost. The 'former journalist' turns out really to be the current censor for #Cambodia & #Malaysia interests still unnamed. A super dark, disastrous day for #pressfreedom in Cambodia," Roberston said in a tweet on Monday. Phil Robertson @Reaproy So much for the @sivakumar03110912 pledge to respect the editorial independence of the @phnompenhpost. The 'former journalist' turns out really to be the current censor for #Cambodia & #Malaysia interests still unnamed. A super dark, disastrous day for #pressfreedom in Cambodia https://twitter.com/BrendanOByrne/status/993396470211428352 ... 6:52 PM - May 7, 2018 1 See Phil Robertson's other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy Several independent media outlets have been shut down in Cambodia during the past year. In September, independent newspaper The Cambodia Daily announced it was shutting down after being slapped with a $6.3m tax bill which its publishers said was politically motivated. The Daily's closure came weeks after a government crackdown on 32 radio stations, including Radio Free Asia's Phnom Penh bureau, according to figures compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an organisation aimed at protecting press freedom. RSF alleges Hun Sen's government is leading "an all-out war on independent media outlets with the aim of ensuring victory in the general elections scheduled for July 2018". Hun Sen is widely predicted to win the July vote following Cambodia's Supreme Court's decision to dissolve the country's main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), in November.

Al Jazeera

PHNOM PENH - Protests outside Cambodia's parliament have reportedly been banned ahead of the forthcoming national election in July. In a meeting on April 27, Deputy Phnom Penh Governor Mean Chanyada said the city had received the "instruction" from the National Assembly, according to official minutes of the meeting obtained by VOA Khmer. "The proposal to march in front of the National Assembly is not permitted due to the fact that, in the past, the National Assembly has given instructions to the administration of Phnom Penh that no assembly or expression[is allowed] in front of the National Assembly complex to keep security, safety, and public order for the National Assembly," Chanyada was quoted as sayings. There were no clear details in the minutes of when and from whom the instruction was sent from the National Assembly that saw a drastic overhaul late last year to redistribute the seats of 55 elected opposition MPs. Ath Thorn, chairman of the Cambodian Labor Confederation, who attended the April 27 meeting with the city, confirmed the ban was announced, which he described as a step "too far". "The way they restrict shows their concern has gone too far on even a random assembly by citizens or garment workers," Thorn said. "I think the National Assembly is not a private place, it is in the public sphere." "Protecting the National Assembly is right, but the suggestion to deny any assembly following proper legal procedure, I think, is not acceptable," he added. The May Day march led by Thorn and other unionists on Tuesday was limited to a riverside space near the city's landmark site of Wat Phnom and with a large security force presence. A handful of union representatives was allowed to deliver a petition to the National Assembly. Chanyada did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. A municipality spokesman and a spokesman for the National Assembly could not be reached. The square in front of the National Assembly complex was a popular meeting point for the Cambodia National Rescue Party's campaign rallies in Phnom Penh during the 2013 parliamentary election. Two of its lawmakers were savagely beaten in a pro-government protest demanding then-opposition leader Kem Sokha resign from his position.The perpetrators were identified as ranking members of Prime Minister's Bodyguard Unit. Chheang Vun, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said he had no knowledge about the ban on demonstrations as the affair fell under the supervision of the House's secretariat, but said such an idea was "reasonable", citing "previous experiences," including the beating of lawmakers in 2015. "If there is this kind of suggestion from the National Assembly, it will be a preventative measure to protect against violence from happening," Vun said. "Just my idea: Firstly, I think we do not want any kind of assemblies that can lead to violence that affects the lawmakers and the National Assembly. Secondly, any assemblies -- at any places -- that can provoke violence must be banned." The CPP lawmaker added that the National Assembly would remain open to the public to come forward with their concerns and ideas to their legislative representatives, but said any mass assembly would be "dealt with under the laws accordingly." The order from the Lower House was cited amid wider concerns over the narrowing space for freedom of assembly in the wake of a sweeping political crackdown on Prime Minister Hun Sen's electoral challengers and critics ahead of the July vote. A State Department report, released last month, said that Cambodian government "did not always respect" its citizen's constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, noting the increase in pre-election rhetoric by the military and political elites threatening of violence against protesters. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, said the reported instruction to ban protests was "shocking," adding that the move was another example of "arbitrary" denials of the people's basic rights. "If the leaders of the National Assembly really think this way about people's right to public assembly, they are unsuitable as democratic representatives and should resign," Robertson said in an e-mail. "What this shows is the government is afraid and any sort of public assembly will immediately become anti-government. Even worse, it shows that the government is afraid to hear the real opinions of the Cambodian workers as expressed on the street."

VOA Cambodia

Provincial police broke up a gender equality event in Tbong Khmum yesterday despite the fact that the NGO hosting the event had received permission for the celebration, members of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmers Community (CCFC) said. It was the second event held by the organisation to be disrupted by authorities in as many days. Phun Sophal, chief of CCFC in the province, said roughly 300 villagers had gathered at the event, held in honour of International Women's Day, when provincial authorities came to break it up. Sophal claimed that police had given the NGO written permission to hold the event but were upset when nobody attended a similar government-sponsored event at the commune hall. "The villagers gathered somewhere else, and they caused trouble for us in return," Sophal said. CCFC has had at least two events shuttered by police over the past two years - including one in Takeo on Wednesday - and was singled out as the only local NGO in a government-made video about "colour revolution" last year. In the video, the NGO was accused of attempting to recruit 70,000 people for a so-called "green revolution" ahead of the 2017 commune elections. On Wednesday, four representatives of CCFC were stopped from hosting an event with local farmers and interrogated by Takeo police about their supposed connection to the Cambodia National Rescue Movement, a group formed by ex-opposition members overseas that the government has labelled a terrorist organisation. Officials at the local, district and provincial level yesterday all denied issuing the order to break up the event. Choam Kravien Commune Chief Beng Rithy maintained he was following orders from district authorities. "Regarding the issues of the CNRM, we did not accuse them," Rithy said. "We just closed their forum, which did not follow the suggestions from the authorities, who did not want to have many places doing the same event." Memot District Police Chief Hong Kim Hoeun, however, said that he acted on orders from provincial authorities and did not know why the event was shuttered. Tbong Khmum Deputy Police Chief and security head Huot Sothy also denied that he ordered the closure of the forum and said the decision rested with local authorities. "For me, I just sent my forces to investigate and take videos to send to provincial authorities," he said. CCFC Secretary Theng Savoeun defended the organisation's right to hold the event separately from the similar one hosted by local officials, noting that the officials had rejected the NGO's proposed programming. "Once they get power, those authorities do not complete their duties properly and do not serve the public's interest, but instead discriminate and restrict our freedom of speech and gathering, which is protected by national and international laws," Savoeun said. UPDATE: On 13 March 2018, villagers in Romeas Hek district, Svay Rieng province are summoned dor questioning regarding links between the CCFC and the Cambodia National Rescue Movement.

Phnompenh Post

Authorities in Svay Rieng province's Romeas Hek district yesterday came to block an NGO from holding a public forum in a village, saying they had not obtained adequate permission. The Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community yesterday morning held a public forum with 40 villagers on the topic of community development in Romeas Hek district's Ampil commune. Meoun Rathana, a deputy secretary of CCFC, said that the organisation had already informed authorities but were still blocked from holding their meeting. "We held it with villagers on developing the community only, but the authority is afraid of us having a meeting with each other and talking about politics. That's why they blocked us," he said. Mr Rathana added it wasn't the first time a CCFC programme had been blocked by authorities even after it had already obtained permission "We only had 40 participants, not 100 people, so we first informed the commune level," he said. "Those officials from the commune level will then inform the district and provincial level. The authority is truly discriminating against activity by our NGO." Soun Seyha, a villager in Romeas Hek district, said participants of the meeting were victims of land disputes who were only to receive training in the agriculture sector. "We must meet with each other to share ideas and experiences in the agriculture sector but when we gather to meet, we always get banned by authorities," he said. "We think we don't have any freedom to gather and talk about community development." Sam Samol, police chief of Romeas Hek district, said authorities checked and found that CCFC had not informed them about the forum. "We did not block them, we just checked them. They did not officially inform authorities. We do not discriminate against them, they just prefer to have meetings without acquiring permission," he said. In October, authorities in Svay Rieng province also stopped CCFC from holding a chicken-raising workshop with villagers, accusing them of not having obtained permission to do so.

Khmer Times

The Ministry of Interior has filed a criminal complaint against at least 10 members of the fledgling Cambodia National Rescue Movement, including former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, though a court official would not confirm the nature of the charges beyond characterising them as being akin to "rebellion". Last week, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed that five former Cambodia National Rescue Party officials who were now part of the new "movement", were facing court proceedings for violating the Supreme Court order banning 118 senior opposition members from participating in politics for five years. Though hasty amendments to Cambodia's Law on Political Parties empowered the Supreme Court to suspend parties for five years, no such provision applies to individuals. Following the near-universal condemnation of the CNRP's forced dissolution in November for allegedly fomenting "revolution", some former members of the party, under the leadership of ex-President Sam Rainsy, started the movement with the aim of calling for nonviolent demonstrations in Cambodia. However, the movement has yet to formally do so. Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophanna yesterday confirmed at least 10 members of the movement were part of a court complaint, but, like Sopheak, he declined to confirm the actual charges involved. "[The] CNRM was created to incite people and the armed forces to rebel against the government, which is the legal authority. This action is not different from a rebellion, and it is an act of opposing national security," Sophanna said in a message. Of the 10, Rainsy, his wife and former CNRP lawmaker Tioulong Saumura, fellow lawmaker Tok Vanchan and US-based CNRP activist Ry Kea are listed on a January document announcing the formation of the movement. Former CNRP lawmakers Ho Vann and Nuth Rumdol are also listed as part of the new complaint, as is land rights activist Sia Phearum and three others - apparent CNRP supporters Sok Ly, Oun Chhim and Sory Pon. Sophanna did not clarify who the last three accused people were. Former CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua said the government's targeting of the movement's members was indicative of its fear of the CNRM's impact on the ground. She added that Cambodians would be undeterred by such cases and that the movement will find new ways to mobilise, such as its call over the weekend to supporters to boycott bottled water sold by a firm owned by Prime Minister Hun Sen's daughter, Hun Mana. "[This] is a scare tactic of the government but it will backfire as people will react to increasing crackdowns," she said. However, Cambodian People's Party spokesman Sok Eysan rejected any trepidation on the government's part, saying that while CNRM members may not have committed "rebellious acts", they had still broken the law. "They just talk from overseas, appeal to foreign governments to put pressure, ask those inside[Cambodia] to rebel against the legitimate government and ask the army to turn their weapons at the government-these are all illegal," he said. Sia Phearum could not be reached yesterday but spoke to Radio Free Asia last night, saying he rejected the accusations that the movement was illegal. "In fact, the movement is to demand democracy in Cambodia. There are no activities that violate national or international law," he said Political commentator Lao Mong Hay said that while it would have been prudent for the ruling party to simply ignore the CNRM, any opposition-related activity was like "food in the CPP's stomach that could not be digested". Additionally, it illustrated that there remained strong anti-government sentiment that the opposition, irrespective of its form, was able to tap into, he added. "It[the government] needs to quell or suppress any sort of agent[that] could stir up this kind of sentiment, and it is yet another case of the ruling party using the law to destroy their opponents," he said.

Phnom Penh Post

A 29-year-old man from Kampong Cham was interrogated yesterday following his arrest last week - on his wedding day - for calling the Cambodian government "authoritarian" in a video clip posted to Facebook. The arrest is just the latest involving online dissent, with human rights groups saying free speech is now "under daily threat" by Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party. Mean Prom Mony, provincial investigator with Adhoc in Kampong Cham, said San Rotha was arrested by provincial Military Police on February 8 over a warrant accusing him of "public insult of the leader and public defamation", adding that Rotha's arrest took place at 7am while he was taking a shower before getting married in Poipet. Prom Mony added that Rotha was interrogated by a prosecutor on Saturday and Sunday, as well as by a judge on Sunday. Huot Vuthy, spokesman for the Kampong Cham Provincial Court, said Rotha was not only being questioned for alleged public insult, but for incitement as well, though he wasn't able to specific the charges. "We are interrogating[him] and I don't know whether[the case] will be dismissed or not," he said. While the original Facebook post couldn't be located on Rotha's profile yesterday, the video clip was widely shared in October, just a month before the Cambodia National Rescue Party - the country's only viable opposition in this year's scheduled national election - was forcibly dissolved at the government's behest. "I want to inform the people and people supporting[the] CNRP to stand up again, and please do not be scared by all the actions and intimidations of some authoritarians," Rotha says in the clip. "If you do not stand up and unite together, we will not get loose from the devil's hand." He goes on to say that "corruption cannot win over the people's solidarity power". "We know already that the authoritarian people[want] to gain victory, they use all the strategies and mind games, and they try to act in all forms to undermine the CNRP supporters' mind," he says. Keo Oun, Rotha's sister-in-law, said Rotha had recently returned from working in Thailand and was getting ready to get married when he was taken by Military Police. "The Military Police forces handcuffed[him] and[took] him into the vehicle, and his mother was crying," she said. "The Military Police said that they would just educate him and would release him six months later because he apologised and promised to stop playing on Facebook." Phil Roberston, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said "freedom of expression is now under daily threat by Hun Sen and his minions". "Pro-government trolls are especially on the look out for critical commentary on Facebook and other online forums because that is the one source of information that the government can't fully control," he wrote in an email, calling on the international community to "publicly denounce these tactics" and decline to recognise this year's election "charade". Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University in Thailand, said for years the Cambodian government has made threats against government critics who use social media or other means to express their opinions, "but since last year, astride intensifying authoritarianism, Cambodia has entered a growing climate of fear".

Phnom Penh Post

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a 30-month sentence for land activist Tep Vanny on charges relating to a 2013 protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen's house that turned violent, leaving the Boeung Kak resident to serve out more than a year of her remaining sentence. Presiding Judge Kem Sathavy upheld the decision handed down by the Appeal Court in August, saying the defence's assertion that Vanny did not orchestrate or order the violence on Daun Penh security guards during the protest was not backed up by the evidence. "After the panel of judges discussed this case, we have seen the[arguments] Tep Vanny and her defence lawyers have raised during the hearing that she did not commit violence. That is not true," Sathavy said. Vanny was charged with committing aggravating intentional violence for allegedly ordering protesters to attack security guards, but during the 30-minute hearing prior to the decision, Vanny insisted there was "no proof or evidence" against her. Around 70 land activists from three evictee communities had attempted to submit a petition to the Ministry of Justice in 2013 asking for the release of Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha and for a quick resolution to their land disputes. After being turned away, they attempted to submit the petition at Hun Sen's residence near Independence Monument, but were met with 200 officers and security guards carrying shields and sticks, preventing them from getting close to the premier's mansion. In the ensuing melee, which the land activists say was started by authorities, Boeung Kak resident Bo Chhorvy received cuts and scratches to her face, even alleging that a police officer tried to grope her. The only evidence presented against Vanny in the case was the written testimony of plaintiffs and Daun Penh security guards Hao Hoeurn and Ouk Ratana. As with all the other hearings throughout the rest of the trial, the pair did not appear in court Wednesday, and did not send legal representation in their stead. Vanny was first convicted over the protest in September 2016, and also has to serve another six-month sentence for a separate protest outside City Hall in 2011. Rising to plead her innocence, Vanny reiterated that the plaintiffs had submitted no evidence to show that she instructed land activists to attack security personnel. "There is no evidence or proof that I committed violence to the civil parties. I would like them to show me," she said, breaking down during her statement. Her lawyer, Sam Sokunthea, said the evidence did not meet the requirements of Article 24 of the Criminal Code, which relates to the "principle of individual criminal responsibility". "All the testimony so far from the plaintiffs is baseless," she said. "They have no pictures to show. No audio or any witness to prove[their accusations]." Hoping to present three witnesses, Sokunthea was informed by Judge Sathavy that the hearing was based on the legalities of the case and did not require additional testimony. Sokunthea ended her comments by reminding the court that Vanny wanted to return to her two children and ailing mother, and that all but one member of her group had resolved their land dispute with the city, leaving the Boeung Kak activist with no reason to continue her protests. Following the judgment, around 30 despondent Boeung Kak residents outside the court briefly protested the verdict, holding up posters of Vanny and yelling at the court. Vanny's daughter, Kong Panha, who was able to briefly meet her mother as the judges deliberated the case, said she just wanted her mother to return home. Vanny said in court her daughter was ill and needed care. "I really want my mother to come back home because I do miss her. We are separated for one or two years already," she told reporters. Amnesty International called the criminal proceedings against Vanny "deeply flawed", with the group's director for Asia and the Pacific, James Gomez, saying authorities seemed determined to keep her in prison. A statement released by 34 civil society organisations on Wednesday said they were dismayed by the verdict and that it represented the continued harassment of human rights defenders in the country. "[C]ambodian human rights defenders such as Tep Vanny are regularly restricted from conducting their work through various forms of judicial harassment, including suspended sentences and arbitrary resurrections of dormant charges," the statement reads.

Phnom Penh Post

Three prominent civil society members have been charged with "breach of trust" for allegedly misappropriating funds raised for slain political activist Kem Ley's funeral, despite the fact that nobody in Ley's family filed a complaint. "Kuch Kimlong, municipal deputy prosecutor, decided to charge But Buntenh, 37, Pa Nguon Teang, 45, and Moeun Tola, 43, with "breach of trust'," reads the Phnom Penh Municipal Court document, dated January 4, but made public on government mouthpiece Fresh News today. The document also calls for the three to be immediately placed in pre-trial detention. The charges carry a punishment of one to three years in prison, and a fine of 2 million to 6 million riel (about $500-$1,500). Activist monk Buntenh, independent media advocate and founder of Cambodian Center for Independent Media Nguon Teang and labour rights campaigner Tola have all been frequent critics of the government. They were accused of misappropriating funds by Cambodian Youth Party head Pich Sros, who has been accused of acting as a proxy for the long-ruling Cambodian People's Party. Sros also filed an initial complaint against the Cambodia National Rescue Party for alleged treasonous activity, as well as against jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha. The complaints filed against the CNRP ultimately led to its dissolution at the hands of the Supreme Court. Sros's complaint against the three activists came after Buntenh pointed out that Sros himself had spent $2,300 on costs for a fundraiser that earned a mere $750 for a memorial stupa for Ley, who was gunned down in broad daylight in an assassination widely seen as politically motivated. Sros has never disputed Buntenh's account, but maintains the fundraiser's failure was an honest one. While Buntenh and Nguon Teang are both abroad, Buntenh today said he was worried about Tola, whom he believed was still in Cambodia. "He's in danger," he said. "In Cambodia now, there is no law." However, a police official at the Phnom Penh International Airport who requested anonymity said Tola left the country for Bangkok on Tuesday. Tola could not be immediately reached for comment, but in the past has said that while he and the others had a role in planning Ley's memorial, it was the family that was in charge of managing the funds. Buntenh also dismissed the accusations against him and the others. "The court created this case .?.?. and then they tried to prosecute us. We are not accepting this type of created case," he said, adding that it was "unfair" and "a game". "They are trying to make a kind of trouble, and they try to shut down independent groups in the country," said Buntenh, who is head of the Independent Monk's Network for Social Justice. Naly Pilorge, deputy director of advocacy for human rights group Licadho, said that the organisation was "shocked at the charges". "There seems to be no indication these three individuals were involved in collecting or managing funeral funds," she said. Sros, however, claimed he had inside information from Ley's brother, Rithisith, that a crime was committed. "I got the information from Kem Ley's brother that this committee committed a crime. I feel that I applaud the effort of the court for this case," he said today. However, Ley's sister-in-law, Bou Imolyta, rejected the accusation, saying Buntenh and the others had never managed the money, and that Sros had no right to file the complaint. "The monk did not hold that money, and Pich Sros has no right to file a complaint at all. He is not the relative of the family and is not involved with the family even a bit. The ones who handled the budget were[Ley's] wife and his mother," she said. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, said the charge was an example of "politically motivated legal harassment" indicating that the government is "still gunning for various NGO people who have caused them trouble in the past". "This is all about Pich Sros trying to earn a reward from the CPP, and if the courts allow themselves to be used in this way then they are worse than everyone thought. The only way justice will be served is if Pich Sros is prosecuted for filing a false case and wasting the court's time," he added.

Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia's government on Wednesday launched a probe into a leading human rights organization, days after Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to shut it down, prompting an outcry from groups who called the move further evidence of the country's slide into dictatorship ahead of elections next year. Deputy director-general of the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Administration Chhim Kan told government-aligned Fresh News that his ministry had initiated a "study and investigation" into the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)-a rights group cofounded by opposition leader Kem Sokha, who is currently in pretrial detention facing charges of treason. The ministry "has yet to decide CCHR's fate," Chhim Kan said, adding that expert officials are awaiting the outcome of the investigation to determine how to proceed. Over the weekend, Hun Sen said that the group "will have to be shut down" because Kem Sokha "followed foreigners to create the center in Cambodia," noting that "this is the same guy who incited people to topple the government." In response to Hun Sen's comments, CCHR issued a statement affirming its "non-partisanship" and "independence from all political parties," and said any independent and impartial investigation into its activities would "find no wrongdoing whatsoever." Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept. 3 for allegedly collaborating with the U.S. to overthrow the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP)-charges the U.S. embassy has rejected. Cambodia's Supreme Court on Nov. 16 ruled that his opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) be dissolved for its part in the plot, essentially eliminating Hun Sen's competition ahead of a general election scheduled for July 2018. Hun Sen's government has faced widespread condemnation in recent months over its actions targeting the CNRP, as well as for orchestrating the closure of independent media outlets and cracking down on nongovernmental organizations. International response Local and international organizations suggested that the investigation into CCHR could lead to a wider shut down of NGOs in Cambodia, and decried it as arbitrary and lacking legal basis. Toronto-based IFEX, a global network of groups promoting free expression that counts CCHR as a member, "strongly and unequivocally" condemned Hun Sen's call for an investigation into the organization following "the politically motivated" dissolution of the CNRP and arrest of Kem Sokha. "The closure of such a principled and dedicated group as CCHR would be devastating for the safeguarding of Cambodians' rights at a time when they are under increasing threat, and would irrevocably add to the climate of censorship that has taken hold," said IFEX executive director Annie Game. "Considered alongside other important voices that have been silenced, such a brazen action would signal to the world that Cambodia's stated support for free expression and association is an empty platitude." IFEX urged the government to drop its "baseless" investigation into CCHR, in accordance with protections for freedom of expression and association enshrined in Cambodia's constitution, and called on the international community, including donors and trade partners, to pressure Cambodia over the case. IFEX's statement echoed earlier concerns over Hun Sen's comments from the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), which said in a post on its Facebook page over the weekend that his attacks on the CCHR constituted "further evidence of Cambodia's continued slide deeper into dictatorship." In the post, APHR chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament, said the push to shut down the group "is the ruthless action of a dictator, and it will perpetuate widespread fear among civil society." He called on authorities to "immediately reverse course and allow CCHR to continue its important work free from threats and intimidation," adding that international partners should worry about the implications for productive engagement and sustainable development in Cambodia, given the country's shrinking civic space. Local reaction Soeung Sen Karona, spokesperson for local rights group ADHOC, told RFA Wednesday that if authorities are going to conduct an investigation into the CCHR, it must be done transparently, instead of simply as a response to Hun Sen's comments. He added that the Ministry of the Interior must look into the benefits that CCHR has provided to society, calling the group an "unequivocal partner for strengthening respect of human rights and social justice in Cambodia." "We hope that what Hun Sen has said are simply his remarks and that those who conduct the[investigation] will do so in a professional manner," he said. "Should they fail to find any[evidence] backing up[Hun Sen's] claim, such a crucial institution should be maintained so that it can further contribute to helping society and the nation in accordance with the government's goal of respecting human rights and democracy." Since late August, the government has also expelled U.S.-funded NGO the National Democratic Institute (NDI), suspended some 20 radio stations that aired content by U.S. broadcasters Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, and forced the closure of the English-language Cambodia Daily with a hefty tax bill. Since Kem Sokha's arrest, some 20 CNRP lawmakers, along with deputy presidents Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang and a number of party activists, have fled Cambodia fearing retaliation by the CPP following important electoral gains by the opposition in June's commune ballot, which are seen as pointing to a strong showing in next year's vote. Last month, a group of 55 nongovernmental organizations said a "severe deterioration in the state of human rights and democracy" in Cambodia required a reconvening of the Paris Peace Conference, which ended conflict in the nation in 1991 and led to the U.N.'s administration of its government during its transition to a system of democratic elections.

Radio Free Asia

Two former reporters with the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia were detained in Cambodia on November 14 on suspicion of illegally producing and disseminating news, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Cambodian authorities to immediately release the pair and drop any charges against them. Uon Chhin, a former RFA videographer, and Yeang Sothearin, a former RFA editor and office coordinator, were taken to Phnom Penh's municipal police headquarters and held for questioning, the reports said. They were still in detention today, according to news reports. Phnom Penh Police Deputy Police Chief Sim Vuthy said that the two reporters would be taken to court tomorrow to face espionage charges, according to reports. The police chief said that the two could be charged under Article 445 of the criminal code, a provision that bans providing "a foreign state with information which undermines national defense," the reports said. Convictions under the law carry maximum 15-year prison sentences. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the pair were being investigated for allegedly setting up a broadcast studio for RFA, according to the same news report. Chhin and Sothearin denied the accusation, according to reports. The Cambodia Daily reported that the two former journalists were accused of secretly installing broadcasting equipment in a guest house in the capital's Meancheay district and sending news reports to the station's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The report said police seized a voice recorder, microphone, laptop, and video monitor from the guesthouse. RFA closed its Phnom Penh bureau and suspended its in-country news operations in September under official pressure related to its registration as a licensed media company. The broadcaster said it no longer had ties with the journalists and denied they were working on its behalf, according to reports. "CPJ calls for the immediate release of former Radio Free Asia reporters Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, and an end to the official intimidation of all journalists in Cambodia," said CPJ Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin. "Prime Minister Hun Sen's reputation as a democratic leader is at a new low. He should reverse the course of this media crackdown now." The government announced after RFA closed its bureau that its reporters would not be given official press passes to report in the country, the Phnom Penh Post report said. In recent months, authorities have closed at least 19 radio stations nationwide on charges they had violated their state operating contracts by airing RFA's news programs, CPJ has found. The crackdown comes ahead of a general election due to be held next year. Hun Sen said today that the vote would take place, despite the Supreme Court banning the main opposition party, according to Reuters.

Committee to Protect Journalist

A senior Ministry of Defence official yesterday claimed that housing rights group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) had received close to half a million dollars a year from the United States to foment "colour revolution" among the land dispute groups it worked with - a claim quickly rejected by the NGO. Defence Ministry Secretary of State Neang Phat was speaking at an event with soldiers in Phnom Penh when he said that former STT head E Sarom, who was temporarily detained last year at a civil society protest, confessed to getting the large sum to foment movements that would serve a purported US strategy. "At some places, the NGOs formed protesting groups. So, if we look at them, we see that they were under the umbrella of some NGOs with the plan to do a colour revolution," he said. "He[Sarom] confessed that they had received funds from $400,000 to $500,000 every year to form all these movements to serve the strategy of the Americans." Last May, Sarom, Licadho Deputy Director Thav Kimsan and Borei Keila land activist Sar Sorn were arrested near Prey Sar prison as they led the first so-called Black Monday protest seeking the release of the imprisoned "Adhoc 5". Phat claimed that those on the receiving end of the purported incitement included outspoken Boeung Kak activist Tep Vanny, the Borei Keila community and land disputants from Thma Kol, also known as the "SOS" community. He also complained about the existence of nearly 3,000 grassroots communities, all of who, he said, were anti-government. "These communities are against the government, none of them is supporting the government," he said. He added that he had no further details to support his allegations and was basing it on a police report handed to him by Deputy National Police Chief Chhay Sinarith, who could not be reached yesterday. Interior Ministry Secretary of State Pol Lim said he was not aware of Phat's claims, and nor was Prak Sam Oeun, director for the ministry's Administration Department. The Defence Ministry official's remarks come as the government mounts a concerted clampdown on the opposition, NGOs and independent media outlets, with a particular emphasis on the US allegedly backing such groups to foment a "colour revolution" - a reference to non-violent protest movements in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. E Sarom, who at the time was the NGO's executive director, could not be reached yesterday, but Soeung Saran, who now heads STT, rejected the claims that it had been funded by the US government. "STT has never received USAID or US State Department funding and does not serve any strategy of the USA or other foreign governments," he said. He said the group only focused on providing pro-poor technical assistance for urban housing and infrastructure issues, as well as helping housing rights abuse victims understand the laws relevant to them. "STT tries to work with the Government of Cambodia and its institutions to develop urban poor areas for the betterment of all Cambodians," he added. In a short statement, the US Embassy in Phnom Penh said, "We support the peaceful resolution of land disputes, but are not familiar with the NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut". Thma Kol land activist Chray Nim questioned the repeated attempts to attack NGOs that aided her community with technical resources - a responsibility, she said, the government had absolved itself of. "Actually it is the government's role and the[involved] company's responsibility to find a solution, but then they turn to scapegoat NGOs that helped us, such as Teang Tnaut," she said. The anti-US conspiracy theories yesterday claimed another casualty - the European Union - when an anonymous letter to the editor, published on government mouthpiece Fresh News, claimed the superpower and economic bloc had stepped over a "red line". "Both ambassadors are trying to express their influence .?.?. and seek to pressure the Cambodian government to release the treasonous mastermind,[opposition leader] Kem Sokha, immediately and unconditionally," the letter reads, referring to US Ambassador William Heidt and EU delegation head George Edgar. The outlet's articles and anonymous letters have proved eerily prescient in recent months, foreshadowing, among other things, the government's expulsion of the NGO National Democratic Institute and its accusations that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party - particularly Sokha, who is currently in prison on "treason" charges - had colluded with the US to topple the government. The CNRP is currently facing possible dissolution by the Supreme Court following a complaint from the Ministry of Interior. In response, Ambassador Edgar said member states had expressed their serious concern over the arrest of Sokha and the potential dissolution and redistribution of the CNRP's seats in parliament and at the local level, but insisted that the EU remained nonpartisan. "It is up to the Cambodian people to choose whom they wish to represent them at commune and national level," he said.

Phnom Penh Post

A student group was suspended by the Ministry of Interior yesterday for a series of violations of the Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organisations (Lango), including the highly controversial Article 24, which requires organisations to remain "politically neutral". The suspension of the Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students comes less than a week since the Phnom Penh Municipal Court summonsed group leader Leng Seng Hong for questioning after he called for peaceful protests in the event of the CNRP's dissolution. "The Ministry of Interior decided to temporarily suspend the activities of Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students for 60 days starting from today," a ministry statement released yesterday says. The statement orders the group to rectify its mistakes, submit proper paperwork and return to neutrality, or face legal action and possible dissolution. At the time Lango was passed, leading local rights groups, including Adhoc, Licadho and the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), said Article 24, among others, was "unconstitutional". All three groups recommended removing the article, with CCHR claiming it is "contrary to the right to freedom of expression". According to Licadho documents, sent to a reporter by Deputy Director of Advocacy Naly Pilorge, this is the first time an NGO has been targeted for violation of Article 24. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to answer questions about the case. When asked if Article 24 had been invoked before, he said "your newspaper should have more documents than me". Seng Hong himself has been summonsed to answer questions related to "incitement to commit a crime", despite advocating specifically for peaceful protests, a right guaranteed under Cambodian law. Seng Hong could not be reached yesterday. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, called the move "rights violating" and "totally absolutely unacceptable". Speaking via email yesterday, Robertson said Lango is a "politically driven battle axe against civil society" and repeated calls for donor countries to take concrete action against the Cambodian government. Cambodian analyst Lao Mong Hay said the violation of neutrality was only an issue because Seng Hong spoke out against the government. "For those opposed to the government's policies, if anyone uses their legs, they will cut off their legs. If they use their hands, they will cut off their hands," he said.

Phnom Penh Post

The Ministry of Interior yesterday ordered the temporary suspension of land rights NGO Equitable Cambodia for allegedly violating its own by-laws and the controversial law regulating NGOs passed in 2015. In a letter signed yesterday, Interior Minister Sar Kheng ordered NGO Director Eang Vuthy to "temporarily suspend Equitable Cambodia's activities for thirty working days". According to the letter, the organisation violated Article 5 of its own by-laws, as well as Articles 10 and 25 of the Law on Associations and NGOs. Article 10 sets out that NGOs must submit bank statements to the ministry within 30 days of registration and notify it of any changes to its address, statute, leadership or bank information. Article 25 orders any domestic NGO to "submit a copy of its activity report and of its annual financial report" no later than by the end of the following year. The ministry did not provide any information on the alleged violation of the organisation's internal rules. The letter also mentions a complaint by residents of Chum Norb village, in Kampong Speu province's Trapaing Chor commune, filed earlier this month against the organisation. Approximately 30 of the protesters travelled to Phnom Penh demanding its closure because it had allegedly "incited the community to separate" in a land dispute case with ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat's Phnom Penh Sugar. However, other villagers still represented by the NGO suspected at the time the protesters were hired by the sugar company. Company representative Andy Seng did not respond to requests for comment as of press time. The ministry's letter asks the organisation to submit a bank account statement, its activity and financial reports, as well as its report regarding the dispute with Phnom Penh Sugar, which was the recipient of a 2010 economic land concession. "In case they don't follow the notice, the Ministry of Interior will take legal action according to the law," the minister wrote.Equitable Cambodia could not be reached yesterday. Chey Beurn, a 60-year-old villager of Trapaing Chor commune and one of the complainants earlier this month, said he was "happy" about the decision. "This NGO deserves what[authorities] have done," he said. "They went too far, they make the communities hate each other." But another resident from the same commune, Phong Sokit, expressed concern about the closure. The organisation has supported him as he tried to solve his dispute with the company. "I feel very sad that this NGO closed. They taught us about .?.?. human rights laws," he said, adding that villagers might protest the closure. "So I feel very regretful, because this NGO has not done any harm to the villagers or the communities."

Phnom Penh Post

Bangkok, October 10, 2017-- The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the legal harassment of Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter, two journalists who worked for the shuttered Cambodia Daily, and calls on Cambodian authorities to drop all charges against the pair. A Cambodian state prosecutor filed criminal charges against Pheap and Peter for their election-related news coverage in the eastern Rattanakiri province, and accused them of "inciting violence" while reporting, according to the independent daily Phnom Penh Post and Cambodia Daily's former editor-in-chief Jodie DeJonge. Pheap, a local reporter, and Peter, a Canadian editor, became aware of the charges on October 5, though Rattanakiri prosecutor Chea Pich filed them on August 28, according to the Phnom Penh Post. A state prosecutor on August 22 questioned the two reporters at the Rattanakiri Provincial Court, but no formal charges were lodged at the time, according to the Phnom Penh Post. According to the news report, if found guilty of incitement, the reporters each face a potential two years in prison. The charges stem from the journalists' reporting on past support for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue party in the Pate commune in Rattanakiri, ahead of June 4 national commune elections. "The incitement charges against journalists Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter should be dropped immediately," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "We urge Prime Minister Hun Sen to cease and desist his government's campaign of intimidation against independent media, and allow reporters to do their jobs without fear of reprisal." Commune chief Rmam Yout, along with two other villagers, alleged the reporters intended to "incite" violence by interviewing them about why their commune had previously elected the opposition party. Cambodia's information ministry imposed sweeping guidelines against election news coverage that could affect "public order" or cause "fear or any violence" ahead of the polls, CPJ documented. Sek Sophom, the reporters' lawyer, said the questions they asked were routine news reporting, and that there was no legal ground for the charges, according to the Phnom Penh Post. The incitement charges are the latest in a series of legal actions taken against the Cambodia Daily. The newspaper published its last edition on September 4 amid allegations that the paper owed $6.3 million in unpaid taxes dating back to 2007, CPJ documented. The paper denied it owes the amount. The information ministry refused to renew the paper's license until the tax issue is resolved. Immigration officials have since blocked the paper's American manager Douglas Steele from leaving the country, a move he likened to "country arrest" in a phone conversation with CPJ. Steele and deputy publisher Deborah Krisher-Steele are both on an immigration 'no fly' list, and authorities froze the newspaper's local bank accounts, DeJonge told CPJ by email.

Committee to Protect Journalist

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) condemns recent attacks by the Cambodian Government against civil society organisations and free media in the country. These repressive measures come at a critical juncture for Cambodia, and severely compromise the legitimacy and fairness of next year's election. On 19 August 2017, the Cambodia Daily was imposed a tax bill of 6.3 million USD. The tax-officers warned that failure to pay the amount by 4 September 2017 would result in foreclosure of the offices and seizure of all assets. According to the general manager of the newspaper, Douglas Steele, the tax bill is not based on any audit of the paper's finances.[1] Similarly, two US government funded radio broadcasters, Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA), were sent a letter, signed by the Finance Minister, Aun Porn Moniroth, alleging that they did not have correct media licenses to operate and were not yet registered with the tax office in Cambodia. It is important to note that all three media outlets have been critical of government policies and the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen. In February, the Cambodia Daily reported on a paper written by Lee Morgenbesser,[2] which alleged that Hun Sen's rule was a "personalist dictatorship'. Similarly, last week, it published an article about an investigation, which revealed that senior staff members of Cambodia's largest human rights organisations were suffering "intensifying levels of harassment, surveillance, intimidation and threats' before the general election.[3] Prime Minister Hun Sen also criticised reports by the civil society election monitoring coalition, the "Situation Room' that the recent commune elections were not free and fair. The coalition is made up of election monitor groups, including the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) and the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), as well as human rights organisations like the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR). He also pledged to disallow them to monitor elections next year, blaming them for not having registered as non-governmental organisations and undermining the legitimacy of the Government. On 23 August 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered the closure of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), an international development and democracy organisation, with its foreign staff given seven days to leave the country. The order was given under the Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organisations (LANGO), which imposes draconian restrictions on the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, expression and opinion. All these rights are guaranteed under the Constitution of Cambodia and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Cambodia is a party. FORUM-ASIA urges the Government of Cambodia to stop harassing independent media outlets and civil society organisations. It also urges the Government to abide fully by its national and international human rights obligations, cooperate with the Special Mandate Holder on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, and engage with the upcoming 36th Human Rights Council session which will discuss the resolution on the human rights situation in Cambodia.

FORUM-ASIA

Today - Monday, 07 August 2017 - youth activist Hun Vannak, a member of the environmental NGO Mother Nature, was arrested at approximately 12.30pm in Kohkor Village, Roka Khpos Commune, Sa-ang District, Kandal Province. Kohkor village has recently borne witness to a series of community protests against fluvial sand dredging in the area, which may have led to riverbank collapse and the loss of homes. Approximately 10 - 15 police officers arrested Mr. Vannak shortly after he left the house of a local villager in Kohkor village. The police were accompanied by 4-5 uniformed representatives of the Leng Ching sand dredging company and arrested Mr. Vannak. Mr. Vannak was accompanied by a local villager and was on his way to buy lunch when he was intercepted by police, close to the villager's home. According to witness reports, police pushed Mr. Vannak into a police vehicle without informing him of the reason for his arrest. He was taken directly to the police station in Ta Kmao for questioning. CCHR has received information that Mr. Vannak is being questioned in relation to allegedly illegally inciting the community to protest, and for allegedly illegally flying a drone. The exact nature of the alleged offenses is yet to be confirmed by the authorities. Mr. Vannak arrived in Kohkor Village on the morning on 07 August to attend a meeting by the Sa-ang district authorities and attended by the Sa-ang District Governor, the Roka Khpos Commune Chief, the Kohkor Village Chief, local villagers, and representatives of the Leng Ching Company. Mr. Vannak attended and monitored the meeting at the invitation of local villagers who asked him to monitor. Mr. Vannak live streamed the meeting via Facebook Live. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the issues related to sand dredging in the area and to find a solution between the villagers and the sand dredging companies which are operating in the locality. The villagers have been demanding an end to sand dredging in their area, as well as compensation for lost and damaged property. Villagers report that they have been meeting on a near-daily basis to discuss the dredging and to plan their advocacy. These meetings have routinely been interrupted by (mostly district-level) authorities and police. In June 2017, another Mother Nature activist, Thun Ratha, faced questioning by local police due to his support for the local community in Sa-ang. UPDATE: On 7 August 2017, the HRD was released after several hours of interrogation. UPDATE: On 13 Feburary 2018, Mother Nature activists who were convicted of incitement to commit a felony and violation of privacy by the Koh Kong provincial court were released after completing their prison terms.

Phnom Penh Post

Authorities in Stung Treng province on Sunday stopped a group of indigenous activists from reaching a village slated for imminent flooding by the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam but released them after escorting them to the provincial capital. Meng Heng, a member of the environmental rights group Mother Nature, said he was traveling with the approximately 30 activists headed toward Kbal Romeas village to show their support for dozens of families refusing to abandon their homes to the dam when they were stopped by local police at about noon. "The 30 people were traveling in two trucks from[Mondolkiri] province and the Sesan district authorities stopped the trucks and brought them to the provincial police station, but they were released," he said. Mr. Heng said they were set free at about 5 p.m., after endorsing documents promising not to return without prior consent from local authorities, and headed back to Mondolkiri. Hor Vuthy, head of the provincial police's minor crimes bureau, said about 22 people were questioned and released. But he declined to say why and referred additional questions to district authorities, who also declined to explain why the activists were detained. Most of the 5,000 people living on the 36,000 hectares the dam is set to turn into a giant reservoir have already moved to resettlement sites where the government and the companies building the 400-megawatt dam-Cambodia's Royal Group and China's Hydrolancang International Energy-are providing them with new homes and farms. But more than 100 families in Srekor and Kbal Romeas villages have refused the offer, worried that life will be much harder at the sites. Families in Srekor have prepared small shelters on a nearby "safety hill" for if and when the water reaches them. The dam began closing its floodgates on July 15 for testing and is set to start producing power on September 25. On Sunday, deputy provincial governor Duong Pov said eight of the 10 gates have since been closed and that the families refusing to leave Srekor village were told on Friday that the water would reach their homes in a week. "We asked the people to cooperate with our authorities to move from the village to the safety hill, and if they volunteer we will take them to the relocation sites because we already built homes for the families," he said. "It is difficult for us to rescue them because some villagers are refusing to cooperate with our authorities." Suth Thoeun, a Srekor village holdout, said the families didn't want their help. "People don't want help from the authorities because they know how to save themselves, but if they want to[help] it's up to them because that is the job of the authorities," he said. "I will only move from the villages if the water reaches the roof of my house."

Cambodia Daily

An ethnic Kuoy activist in Stung Treng province says his life was threatened after he tipped authorities off to an alleged land grab on Saturday involving two suspects who remain at large. On Saturday, Thala Barivat District Police responded to a tip from local activist Uk Mao, 53, and stopped an area landowner and a bulldozer driver as they allegedly cleared more than 1 hectare of protected forest in Sam Ang commune. According to provincial Agriculture Department Director Lieng Seng, the raid only resulted in the seizure of the bulldozer, as the suspects had already fled. The provincial Forestry Administration director, Meas Sophum, said his office was pursuing the case, without giving further details. Mao said he received a threatening phone call on Saturday evening. "You will be beheaded soon," the caller allegedly told him. "How dare you report to the authorities? .?.?. I know your house," Mao recalled the anonymous caller saying. "They were furious with me because I tipped off the authorities to halt and seize the machinery," he said, explaining that the accused clearer is a large-scale local landowner. Fearing for his safety, Mao said he requested the intervention of the commune police and rights group Adhoc. This is not the first time Mao said he had received threats for bringing attention to land grabs. In January, he reported being threatened with prosecution for defamation by commune authorities after he notified them that state and community land was being cleared and sold off. Thala Barivat District Governor Thong Srorn said he was unaware of the threats against Mao. "Clearing is illegal and they came in an anarchic way," said Srorn. "After receiving the information, we just implemented the law to arrest[the suspects]," adding that authorities continued to search for the two men. Hou Sam Ol, Adhoc's Stung Treng provincial coordinator, called on higher authorities to investigate the case. "It is like timber hauling cases - mostly only the evidence is seized while the criminals and drivers are rarely captured," he said, adding that Mao should be protected by local police.

Phnom Penh Post

Battambang Provincial Court has ordered the provincial Adhoc human rights coordinator to appear in a case involving allegations of intentional violence. The summons orders Ying Mengly to appear at court on Tuesday next week and to bring any documents he has in his defence. Mr Mengly said he did not know where the alleged violence took place, but would appear in court on the due day. "I am not in the wrong, I am not afraid," he said. He added that he had helped many victims in land disputes with tycoons or powerful people in his role as a human rights defender . "I want to know who filed a complaint against me," he said. Mr Mengly said the number of complaints to Adhoc fell in Battambang province last year. Adhoc received 15 complaints, one involving torture, five over land disputes and nine related to injuries. Soueng Sen Karona, senior investigator for Adhoc, said the organisation will provide a lawyer to study the case. "We don't know who filed the complaint. Our lawyer will work on that issue," he said.

Khmer Times

The NGO election consortium calling itself the "Situation Room" may be banned from future vote monitoring and the registration of its member NGOs investigated, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused the group of violating the law, colluding with the opposition and serving as a base for a "color revolution." Members of the group defended its neutrality and said it had not registered with the Interior Ministry, as is required of NGOs under the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (Lango), because it was a temporary gathering of like-minded NGOs rather than a fully structured organization. Speaking at the CPP's 66th anniversary celebrations on Phnom Penh's Koh Pich on Wednesday, the prime minister ordered Interior Minister Sar Kheng to investigate the Situation Room's legal status under Lango after the group of 40 NGOs criticized the fairness of the June 4 commune elections. "An issue that needs to be solved next is-what is the Situation Room?" Mr. Hun Sen asked. "In a few days, they made the election results have serious difficulties. Did the Situation Room register with the Interior Ministry?" "Do they have a right to create a base like this?" he asked of the group's election monitoring headquarters. "Or is this the common base for the principles of a color revolution?" The group's criticism of the election, especially pre-vote campaign activity, echoed concerns leveled by the CNRP, he said, suggesting collusion with the opposition. "If they're not legal, what have they been doing? How will they be punished?" he asked, urging Mr. Kheng to look into the group's legality. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the ministry saw the coalition as an unregistered NGO, and would now investigate the registration of the member NGOs and call individuals in for questioning. The Situation Room's members, as listed on a news release earlier this month, are a roll call of the country's most prominent civil society organizations (CSOs), including election NGOs the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (Comfrel) and the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections (Nicfec); rights groups Adhoc, Licadho and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights; labor rights NGO Central; and umbrella organization NGO Forum. "It could be that we issue a letter to dissolve their activity to jointly monitor the next election," General Sopheak said. In a statement released on Saturday, the group was largely positive about the vote itself but said "significant irregularities" prior to June 4 meant that "elections in Cambodia cannot yet be considered free and fair." The group said political suppression of the opposition, threats of violence from ruling party leaders, biased courts and unequal media allotment had undermined the quality of the election. Gen. Sopheak, who threatened unspecified action against CSOs in the run-up to the vote, rejected the findings and claimed they caused "social turmoil." In a statement jointly released on Wednesday by Comfrel and Nicfec, the two organizations did not mention Mr. Hun Sen's speech, but described the Situation Room as a "neutral forum" organized by the two groups to supply election observers and evaluate vote results, among other tasks. The consortium ended on Saturday, when it released its election findings, the statement said. Lango requires all "domestic associations" to register with the ministry, a term it defines as "a membership organization...by natural persons or legal entities aiming at representing and protecting the interests of their members without generating or sharing profits." Sotheara Yoeurng, a law and monitoring officer with Comfrel, confirmed in a Facebook message that the group had not registered with the ministry, but said there was no need given its short mandate. The group lacked an organizational structure, he said, and was only a gathering place for CSOs "who have like-mind." Legal expert Sok Sam Oeun said the Situation Room wouldn't need to register if it had merely served as a gathering place for member organizations. But if it wanted to organize under a new name and put out statements, it should have registered, he said. In the NGO law, "if we form a coalition, we should register." Comfrel's Mr. Yoeurng disputed that logic. "It's a room or space for gathering ideas and opinions of CSOs to debate on elections matters," he wrote. "It's a collective opinion so we should put it together for a single statement." Prince Sisowath Thomico, a member of the CNRP's steering committee, laughed when asked if his party had colluded with the forum, denying any secret cooperation. Mr. Hun Sen "is used to accusing," he said.

Cambodia Daily

A Cambodian human rights worker held for over a year in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar Prison collapsed on Sunday in a prison restroom, with prison authorities later offering conflicting accounts of who had provided him with medical treatment. Ny Sokha, one of a group of four ADHOC activists and an election official held in a case of alleged bribery widely seen as targeting Cambodia's political opposition, was stricken with diarrhea on June 18 and was examined by doctors sent by the rights group Licadho, prison spokesperson Nuth Savana said. He amended his statement next day, however, saying that Ny Sokha's jailers had misinformed him, and that the detained rights worker had been seen instead by prison physicians. Speaking to RFA's Khmer Service, Ny Sokha's younger brother Ny Lyheng said on Monday that he visited Ny Sokha the day after his collapse, and that his brother's face was pale and hands were shaking from the effect of serum injections given by his doctors. "I met with him this morning," Ny Lyheng told RFA. "He had passed out in the prison restroom for a while before being rescued by other inmates." Though Ny Sokha had been quickly attended to by prison physicians, Ny Lyheng said, he is concerned that his brother's condition may be beyond the ability of the prison's doctors to treat. Ny Sokha's lawyer Lor Chunthy meanwhile said that after seeing his client's condition, his legal team will file a petition with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge handling the case to allow Ny Sokha to receive treatment outside the prison. "We will have a meeting tomorrow, and after this we will file our petition[with the court]," Lor Chunthy told RFA. 'Part of a campaign' Also speaking to RFA, Am Sam Ath, head of investigations for the Cambodian rights group Licadho, said that the judge handling Ny Sokha's case has refused permission for Licadho doctors to examine the detained rights worker or other members of his group. "We cannot provide a final diagnosis of his condition because Licadho's physicians are not allowed access to him," he said. Already held at Prey Sar for 12 months for investigation of their case, the group now known as the ADHOC Five were told in March that their period of pre-trial detention would be extended for a further six months. Rights group Human Rights Watch slammed the group's continued detention, calling the court's move "part of a campaign to destroy[Cambodia's political opposition] and scare Cambodian rights workers into silence." The wife of opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party member Chao Veasna, elected to a commune post in June 4 and detained in a separate case, meanwhile pleaded with authorities to provide her husband with competent care before returning him to prison from a hospital, where he is being treated for gallstones and liver disease. "I want them to provide medical treatment for my husband so that he gets some relief before sending him back," Chao Veasna's wife Vong Kimhong said. "But the prison department is too strict. I don't know how to help him," she said. UPDATE: On 29 June 2017, a court in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh conditionally released five rights defenders from prison after more than a year in pre-trial detention on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

Radio Free Asia | Front Line Defenders | Radio Free Asia

About 30 villagers escorted two environmental activists from Kandal province's Sa'ang district to the relative safety of Phnom Penh yesterday after the pair were allegedly harassed by local police for helping coordinate a protest against sand dredging in the area the day before. The activists, Thun Ratha, 25, and Meng Heng, 27, of the group Mother Nature, were brought to the city in the afternoon on a remorque alongside 15 of the villagers, while the rest followed on their motorbikes fearing that the activists might be arrested, according to Heng. The pair had travelled to Koh Kor village in Raka Khpos commune on Sunday to help coordinate a protest to demand that the authorities halt sand dredging operations in the Tonle Bassac river, after about 10 homes had collapsed into the water over the past year. Ratha said police had demanded to photograph his national identification card on Sunday after his fellow activist presented a photo of his own ID card, but that he had refused. At around 10:30pm, he said, about 10 commune police officers and the local village chief showed up to the house where he was staying, demanding once again to see his identification. More commune, district and provincial police returned in the morning, Ratha said. "They told me to show my NGO work card and ID card, wanting to know where I'm from, but I declined," he said. "No law orders us to show them the document as a simple citizen. I am not a criminal." Kandal Police Chief Eav Chamroeun said he had seen a video the activists posted on Facebook in which they said they wanted to end dredging in the area. He said he believed they were going to "incite" villagers. "I wanted them to show who they are," he said. "And I told my policemen to ask them." Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, a co-founder of Mother Nature who was deported from Cambodia in 2015, said he was not surprised by the alleged case of harassment, explaining that the activists "faced this issue countless times" when organising protests against sand-dredging. Sorn Ramana, a project coordinator at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the activists had rights to freedom of assembly and association under Cambodia's Constitution. "While no arrest was made in this case, the repeated confronting of Mr Thun Ratha by large numbers of state forces constitutes an act of intimidation and a restriction of Mr. Ratha's rights," Ramana said. Mines and Energy Ministry spokesman Dith Tina said that there are four licensed dredging companies operating legally in the in the area, identifying the firms as Leng Chin Group Co Ltd, Song Sopheap, Bassac Mekong Development Co Ltd and Porniron Co Ltd. All received a two-year dredging licences last year, Tina said, and the nearest dredging zone was about 600 metres from the collapsed homes. After a riverbank collapse occurred in the area in March, the ministry sent a specialist to inspect, and determined the collapse was "due to natural erosion of the riverbank", Tina added.

Phnom Penh Post

Kim Sok, a strident government critic in prison for blaming the ruling party for the July murder of political analyst Kem Ley, was predictably denied bail on Wednesday by the Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh. Presiding Judge Nguon Im said during a closed-door hearing that Mr. Sok needed to remain behind bars to prevent him from committing further defamation, and to allow court procedures to continue unimpeded, according to Mr. Sok's lawyer, Chuong Choungy. Mr. Sok, a longtime operative for royalist political parties, re-entered the political sphere last year as a frequent guest on radio shows, commenting on the news of the day. An interview on Radio Free Asia in which he appeared to suggest that the government was behind the shooting of Kem Ley sparked a lawsuit from Prime Minister Hun Sen. On February 17, he was imprisoned on charges of defamation and incitement. Mr. Choungy said the decision to keep his client behind bars was unreasonable, and would be appealed at the Supreme Court. "Incitement and defamation are different to charges of murder, rape or drug trafficking," he said of the suggestion that Mr. Sok could commit crimes again if freed. After a previous appeal hearing, Mr. Sok claimed that representatives of the prime minister had visited him in prison and offered possible release if he wrote an apology, but also threatened to send him to a "dark prison" if he didn't. The Interior Ministry issued a statement this week denying the accusations. On 28 May 2017, Kim Sok issued a handwritten letter bearing his thumbprint, which was seen by RFA, saying he would skip eating for the sake of social justice and to call on Cambodia's citizens to use their rights to vote for change of commune chiefs in nationwide polls. Following the announcement, Kim Sok staged a hunger strike from 29 May to election day on 4 June.

Cambodia Daily

Several civil society organizations and their employees, including the leaders of the human rights NGOs Licadho and Adhoc, are under watch by the Interior Ministry for allegedly aiding the CNRP and will face legal action after Sunday's commune election if the allegations prove true, a ministry spokesman said today, a charge denied by Licadho's executive director. "We have not yet put any NGOs or civil society organizations on the blacklist but we will take action if we find those organizations are working to serve the opposition party," ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said this morning, referring to a list the government uses to initiate formal investigations. "We will not take action in this time because the activities of those organizations are not so serious," he said. "But we will take action immediately if the activities of those people affect the national interest." Though General Sopheak did not name the organizations in question, he said they included Adhoc and Licadho. "Those two organizations are under investigation because most of their activities are working to serve the opposition party," he said. "I wish to state that the two organizations are good, but individuals and leaders in the organizations are working to serve the opposition party." Licadho's executive director Naly Pilorge said she was unaware of any investigation against the organization and denied supporting the opposition. "As a human rights NGO, pre & post election work has been and still is a normal part of our work," she wrote in a message. "Our work is to provide services to victims of human rights violations including land grabbing, trafficking, gender based violence, labor etc... including cases that are of civil & political nature." Gen. Sopheak said the action was prompted by criticism from civil society organizations over the ink used in the upcoming elections. The National Election Committee admitted it purchased the ink even though samples could be erased using a hair care product, drawing concern from election monitors over potential double-voting. The spokesman said the NGOs were working at the behest of foreign donors to support the opposition. "We are now watching[to see] which NGOs and civil society organizations are working to serve the opposition party and we will take action after the commune election," he said, declining to name the actions but saying they would draw from the recently-passed Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO). NGOs in Cambodia have been treading more carefully since the passage last year of LANGO, which critics said gave the government sweeping powers to revoke the registration of organizations found to have threatened political stability or be operating with a political bias. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, released an 11-page screed in April, "To Tell the Truth," accusing foreign diplomats, media, and NGOs of colluding with Western governments to destabilize the country and support the opposition. Representatives from Adhoc as well as two election watchdogs - the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia and the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia - could not immediately be reached for comment, while Chak Sopheap, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, declined to comment. Adhoc director Thun Saray fled to Canada last fall amid a court case that saw four of his employees jailed for bribery charges widely seen as politically motivated, which Gen. Sopheak said proved his guilt. Eang Vuthy, head of the housing and development NGO Equitable Cambodia, said he was unaware of the ministry's investigation, but that the organization was operating neutrally. "We just follow our mandate," he said. "We are not affiliated to any political party." An article from government mouthpiece Fresh News, which broke the story, said that the NGOs targeted were located in Phnom Penh's Chamkar Mon district, but Gen. Sopheak said that he had not read the article and declined to comment on its accuracy.

Cambodia Daily

Four activist monks were arrested after attending an opposition rally in Oddar Meanchey province on 26 May 2017, with police confiscating their mobile phones and deleting videos and photographs taken during the event, one monk said, though the account was disputed by authorities. Luon Sovath, a prominent activist monk known for regularly livestreaming events on his Facebook page, said police started harassing opposition supporters after they left a Samraong City rally attended by CNRP President Kem Sokha on Friday morning. "After people were going back to their homes...about 1 km away, the police stopped people and asked them where they want to go and where they had come from," he said later that day. A police chief ordered the monks' arrests and that their phones be confiscated, with police saying that another well-known activist monk, Prim Huon, had been "spreading lies" about the intimidation of opposition supporters at the rally in a Facebook livestream, he said. "They deleted all video and photos," Luon Sovath said, adding that the monks were also forced to delete Facebook posts from the rally. "They want to threaten the people and threaten the monks, and also they do not respect human rights, political rights or freedom of ideas." Hours later, after agreeing to delete the videos and thumbprinting a document agreeing not to post similar material, the monks were allowed to leave with their phones, Luon Sovath said. Shortly after, Prim Huon posted a video to his Facebook of himself being detained, which Luon Sovath swiftly shared. Contacted on Sunday, provincial police chief Men Ly denied the monks' story. CNRP supporters had willingly dispersed after police stopped an unscheduled and therefore illegal march, he said. "The CNRP did not argue and they knew they were wrong so they dispersed, but the monks twisted[the actions of] our authorities," he said, adding that he had no plans to pursue the issue further. Provincial election committee chief Chinh Samphour said the monks had willingly deleted the materials on their phones after a calm negotiation. "There were no CNRP activists mistreated. The monks just exaggerated," he said. But prior to the monk arrests, efforts had been made by officials and CPP supporters to disrupt the opposition rally, said Kem Monovithya, Mr. Sokha's daughter and the CNRP's deputy public affairs director. "CPP blasted music on loud speakers close to where we held our meeting. We filed[a] complaint, eventually they stopped after our meeting was also over," she said in an email. "Heavy armed forces present, blocking some CNRP cars from rallying. Authority at the same time allowed CPP to rally on routes that CNRP can't, our rally was very confined."