Supporters protest against Rong Chhun's arrest and call for his release in August 2020.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning sentenced Rong Chhun to 24 months in prison and activists Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol to 20 months in prison on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the criminal code. The activists were each ordered to pay 2 million riel ($500) in fines, as well as jointly pay 400 million riel ($100,000) in damages.

Chhun, a longtime unionist and labour rights activist, was arrested in July 2020 over comments he made regarding the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Kanika was arrested the following month during a peaceful protest calling for Chhun’s release. Nimol, a former commune election candidate for the CNRP, was arrested in October that year during a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy. All three have been imprisoned in pre-trial detention since their arrest.

Nineteen activists, artists and human rights defenders were arrested in the month and a half following Chhun’s arrest, with many also facing charges of incitement, which carries up to two years in prison. At least 24 human rights defenders are currently in prison for exercising their rights.

More than 140 civil society groups, communities and unions have called on the government to drop all charges against Chhun. Many also called on the government in August 2020 to stop beating and arresting peaceful activists in the weeks following Chhun arrest, and the month after called for the release of youth activists and environmental rights defenders who had been arrested in the crackdown.