Tep Vanny and Boeung Kak Lake community members speak to media outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 24 August 2018.

This morning Boeung Kak Lake activist Tep Vanny and five other members of the community were found guilty of making a “death threat” against a former community member. They were each given six-month suspended sentences. Another charge of “public insult” was dropped by Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The case was revived in late 2016, despite the plaintiff, Ly Mom, having dropped her March 2012 complaint in October 2016.

The trial of Tep Vanny, Nget Khun, Cheang Leap, Kong Chantha, Tol Sreypov and Heng Mom began in July 2017 but was suspended by the judge when prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court.

Today, the hearing resumed in the presence of four defendants – Tep Vanny, Nget Khun, Kong Chantha and Cheang Leap – with two defendants and five witnesses absent from the proceedings.

About 20 members of Phnom Penh communities and civil society groups gathered outside the court this morning in a show of solidarity.

The group was charged with making a “death threat” under Article 233 of the Criminal Code, and sentenced to six months in prison, which has been suspended. The charge of “public insult” under Article 307 was dropped at the request of the prosecutor.

Tep Vanny was released from prison on Monday after receiving two pardons – one for a 30-month sentence she was serving in Correctional Center 2 and for another six-month conviction. Her release coincided with the release of political analyst Kim Sok who had finished his sentence last Friday and former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin who were released on bail on Tuesday.