Duong Saktheary (left) and Ty Mary (right), mothers of Mother Nature activists Dem Kundy and Hun Vannak outside court on 25 January 2018.

Koh Kong provincial court considered the case of two activists from the Mother Nature environmental group this morning who were arrested in September while filming suspected illegal sand dredging activity.

Dem Kundy and Hun Vannak were arrested in Kiri Sakor district on 12 September 2017 and charged on suspicion of violating privacy and incitement to commit a felony. They have been held since then in pre-trial detention. Their arrest came just two days after the group posted an online video​ highlighting potential smuggling of silica sand to Taiwan.

If convicted of the two charges, the activists face up to two years in prison and fines of up to six million riel (US$1,500) under article 495 (incitement to commit a felony) and article 302 of the Criminal Code (unauthorized recording of a person’s image).

Three other Mother Nature activists were arrested while campaigning against illegal sand dredging in August 2015 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The group’s co-founder Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish national, was arrested and deported in February 2015.

Kundy and Vannak are recognized by Amnesty International as Prisoners of Conscience.

The court will announce the verdict tomorrow, 26 January 2018.