Security guards stand watch outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court as supporters gather to call for an end to the ongoing mass trials.

Two men have been sent to prison after being arrested by police yesterday morning while peacefully gathering outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court during the ongoing mass trials of more than a hundred people accused of being connected to the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Police seized four men who had gathered outside the court and turned them over to the Tbong Khmum provincial police. The two imprisoned men are believed to have been arrested in connection with a warrant issued by the provincial court accusing them of being an accomplice to incitement to commit a felony under articles 29, 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. They were sent to Tbong Khmum provincial prison this afternoon. The other two men were released yesterday evening after questioning.

The arrests came after dozens of supporters of the former opposition party gathered outside the court to protest a series of mass trials set for the coming days and weeks, in which more than 130 people are facing charges of plotting against the state or incitement to disturb social order. This morning, a group of non-violent demonstrators were barred from gathering outside the court and threatened with arrest unless they dispersed immediately. Both days, security guards attempted to stop journalists and human rights monitors from taking photos outside the court.

Yesterday’s trial, in which 60 people were summonsed to answer charges of incitement and plotting, will continue on January 28. Today, Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun appeared in court alongside former CNRP youth activist Sar Kanika, Ton Nimol and Khmer Win Party leader Soung Sophorn, also facing incitement charges. Kanika was one of more than 20 young activists arrested for peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of the imprisoned unionist, who was arrested in July over public comments he gave about border issues shortly after he visited farming communities along the Vietnam border.

This article has been updated following the two men's imprisonment.