LIBRARY

22 December 2022

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning convicted 36 former leaders, members and supporters of the forcibly dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of plotting under Article 453 of the Criminal Code. The former opposition activists each received sentences ranging from five to seven years in prison, with only three activists receiving suspended sentences. Political rights of 11 activists were also suspended for a period of five years.

The political activists were convicted on the basis of their Facebook posts and recorded private phone calls regarding an attempt by Mu Sochua and other former CNRP leaders to return to Cambodia in January 2021 to stand trial in a separate mass trial. Sochua was denied boarding because the Cambodian government cancelled her passport and refused to issue her a visa for her country of birth.

14 December 2022

Nineteen villagers have been imprisoned in a series of arrests which started in September 2022 in connection to an ongoing land dispute with Sok Samnang Development Co., Ltd. in Oddar Meanchey’s Trapeang Prasath district.

Armed forces wielding batons mobilised to arrest eight villagers and oversaw houses being burned in the conflicted area in the latest violent episode on 9 and 10 December. Gendarmes – also known as military police – arrested five women and three men over the course of the two days. A video taken on 10 December shows gendarmeries wielding long batons while arresting a villager and intimidating others from filming. Other videos recorded by villagers that day show their houses in flames. White smoke from the remains of burned houses was still visible when LICADHO monitors arrived that evening.

1 August 2022

Online money lending networks are targeting Cambodian women on Facebook and Telegram, trapping them into growing debts and extorting them using naked photographs and videos. Social media companies and Cambodian authorities are failing to act, allowing these predatory groups to exploit women with impunity.

In the last year, LICADHO has provided services to three women who have been harassed by informal online lenders. Each with similar experiences, the women first borrowed sums as small as $50 to pay for daily expenses or medical care from groups advertising on Facebook, but ended up being blackmailed and extorted after sending naked photographs and videos in an attempt to escape the cycle of debt.

14 June 2022

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning convicted former leaders, members and supporters of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of plotting and incitement under Articles 453, 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code.

Twelve former CNRP leaders were convicted in absentia and handed prison sentences of eight years. Nineteen other members and supporters were each sentenced to six years in prison. The court issued detention warrants for these 31 people this morning.

7 March 2022

The 10 human rights defenders (HRDs) whose profiles are outlined below are leaders and members of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). The unionists are all former employees of NagaWorld, a highly profitable, Malaysian-owned casino with an exclusive operating license in Phnom Penh.

These men and women are currently imprisoned in Correctional Center 2 (CC2) and Phnom Penh’s PJ prison.

18 January 2022

Today marks one month since workers from the Labor Rights Supported by Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) began striking and holding daily peaceful demonstrations in central Phnom Penh. Workers continue to strike to oppose the casino’s mass layoff of union members and leaders and improper compensation packages for longtime employees, among other issues.

28 June 2021

Right to Relief is a call for immediate action to be taken by microloan providers - both microfinance institutions (MFIs) and banks - as well as their international investors, including state development banks from Europe and the United States, to investigate the scope of human rights abuses and provide relief to borrowers who have suffered from predatory lending and collection practices. The research spans eight provinces in Cambodia, with each community profile featuring information about the community’s formation in response to a land conflict, and the threat to land tenure security and other human rights now posed by over-indebtedness.

A website features highlights from the 14 community profiles, while a PDF of the report contains more complete profiles and additional information about the project.

20 June 2021

Ratha and Chandaravuth were arrested alongside another activist, Seth Chhivlimeng, in Phnom Penh. The three were arrested on Wednesday morning, apparently in relation to their activities documenting runoff draining into the Tonle Sap river in the capital’s Daun Penh district. Chhivlimeng was later released from detention after being detained for 24 hours at the Police Private Security Management department of the Ministry of Interior, while Ratha and Chandaravuth remained in detention.

Also on Wednesday, police in Kandal province’s Koh Thom district summonsed environmental activist Yim Leanghy for questioning and he was arrested after arriving at the police station. He was later transferred to Phnom Penh and was sent to court along with Ratha and Chandaravuth. Leanghy, Ratha and Chandaravuth face between 1 and 5 years in prison for insulting the king as well as a fine of between 2 and 10 million riel ($500 to $2,500), and they also face between 5 and 10 years in prison for plotting. Also charged with the same crimes was Spanish national Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported from Cambodia in 2015 in relation to his activities as the co-founder of the Mother Nature Cambodia environmental movement.

4 June 2021

Soldiers fired bullets at land protesters on Thursday in Kandal province, hitting one man in the shoulder, as a group of about 100 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) soldiers faced off against villagers involved in a land conflict in Kandal province, about five kilometres from Phnom Penh. The injured man remains hospitalised, while some local villagers resumed protesting on Friday morning.

The shooting occurred in Tuol Prich commune, Angk Snuol district, in an area that houses several military bases and outposts and has seen a boom in development in recent years. Villagers reported that the soldiers were from the nearby Thmat Pong military school. Videos of the incident show an excavator digging up land while local villagers try to stop it and block National Road 51. Uniformed soldiers can be seen advancing on the villagers and firing dozens of live rounds from handguns and assault rifles into the air, at the ground, and into the crowd of villagers, hitting one man in the shoulder.

8 March 2021

This International Women’s Day, LICADHO is calling for immediate improvements to the conditions faced by women and girls who are detained in Cambodia’s disastrously overcrowded prison system.

Last month, nine women shared stories with LICADHO about life within Correctional Centre 2 (CC2), the country’s only prison designated for women and children. Five of these women - Sokha, Bopha, Sopheary, Sreyleak, and Chanmony - are currently imprisoned or have recently been released. Their names have been changed to protect their identities. Others are family members of imprisoned women human rights defenders Chhoeun Daravy, Eng Malai, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey.

All of these women have faced deplorable prison conditions. Yet rights violations behind bars are avoidable, and the government has a responsibility to urgently resolve this crisis by implementing best-practices from both domestic and international laws and regulations.

22 September 2020

Nineteen activists, artists and human rights defenders have been imprisoned since July for peacefully exercising their constitutional rights to free expression and assembly. This relentless crackdown began with the nighttime arrest of union leader Rong Chhun following public statements he made after visiting farming communities living along the Vietnam border. Over the next month and a half, activists who publicly called for Chhun’s release were arrested and sent to pre-trial detention. They face up to two years in prison if judged guilty.

The crackdown soon extended beyond activists calling for Rong Chhun’s release. Environmental activists, young rappers and a Buddhist monk have all been imprisoned for speaking out about issues affecting their country and communities. Former members of the outlawed political opposition party have also been jailed. Representatives from a number of international bodies have condemned the arrests or publicly called for the release of these imprisoned human rights defenders, who remain locked in Cambodia’s overcrowded prisons. These are the men and women who have lost their freedom while exercising their fundamental rights.

4 September 2020

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.

10 May 2020

Six members of Cambodian youth group Khmer Thavrak including human rights activist Hun Vannak were arrested in Battambang last night while returning from a peaceful protest calling on banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to suspend loan repayments amid the economic crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Five monks who joined the protest were also threatened with expulsion from their pagodas unless they thumb-printed an agreement pledging to stop their activism on behalf of Cambodian borrowers.

8 March 2020

Last year, to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign, LICADHO shared videos highlighting the experiences of pregnant women and mothers incarcerated with their children in Cambodian prisons. Months later, little progress has been made to improve the lives of these women and children. January saw the tragic death of a five-month old baby incarcerated with her mother in Correctional Centre 2 prison.

To mark International Women’s Day this 8 March, LICADHO is sharing the full stories of three women and their children who endured the harsh realities of Cambodia’s prisons – severe overcrowding, inadequate food and access to health care, scarce contact with their families, and limited time and space for children to play.

Many incarcerated pregnant women and women with children are entitled to release on bail, yet remain in pre-trial detention without access to a lawyer. As of January 2020, 43 pregnant women and 103 children living with their mothers remained behind bars.

3 January 2020

About 70 unionists, land activists, workers and rights activists gathered in Phnom Penh this morning to mark the sixth anniversary of security forces opening fire on striking workers on Phnom Penh’s Veng Sreng Boulevard on January 3, 2014, leaving four dead, one missing and dozens injured.

Participants held a Buddhist ceremony and memorial service at the office of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), which was also attended by several family members of the killed and missing workers.

1 December 2019

To mark International Human Rights Day on December 10 2019, LICADHO is publishing summaries of major events and human rights abuses spanning the last decade. Each day will feature a new year, starting on December 1 with a summary of events in 2010 and culminating on December 10 with a look back at 2019.

10 July 2019

Authorities detained seven people on July 9 and July 10 for expressing their condolences and support for murdered political commentator Kem Ley, while people marking the third anniversary of his killing at the site of his murder in Phnom Penh were surrounded by police. These detentions mark the continuation of a heavy-handed crackdown by authorities on Cambodians’ right to free expression and assembly.

This morning, three activists were detained outside Caltex Bokor petrol station in Phnom Penh – the location of Kem Ley’s murder on July 10, 2016 – after they joined other youth activists, union leaders and civil society members to mark the anniversary. The detainees included environmental activists Chum Hout and Chum Hour.

21 March 2019

Today marks two months since Preah Vihear community representative Sum Meun disappeared after he was beaten and illegally arrested by armed military officials. The disappearance was part of a slew of arrests made over two weeks in January of villagers entangled in a conflict with a land concession granted to Metrei Pheap Kase-Ousahakam Co. Ltd. The company has links to tycoon An Mady.

The 54-year-old Meun and his son, Meun Mean, were arrested on January 20 by military soldiers from Battalion 261 under RCAF Intervention Brigade 6 - acting as security guards for the concession holder in Choam Khsant district’s Yeang commune. Witnesses reported that Meun was beaten following his arrest. The pair was then transferred to the Koulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary Headquarters where they were both detained overnight.

30 January 2019

Cambodia’s human rights record comes under review at the UN Human Rights Council today as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

LICADHO contributed to two joint submissions with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Forum-Asia which catalogue state repression of human rights defenders, media and civil society, as well as the human cost of rampant land grabbing.

26 January 2019

A man was shot and critically injured by mixed security forces after more than 100 police, gendarmes, and soldiers descended on Kokir village, in Preah Sihanouk province, on Thursday morning to enforce a Supreme Court decision awarding disputed land to nine families.

When the heavily armed security forces tried to enter the site in Bet Trang commune, protesters, some holding sticks, burned tires and threw rocks to prevent them. Security forces - including soldiers from Preah Sihanouk provincial sub-operational zone then withdrew, regrouped, and re-entered the village. This time they fired dozens of shots of live ammunition into the air as well as into the crowd in what was a clearly excessive use of force.