LIBRARY

5 January 2022

Today the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered LRSU union leader Chhim Sithar to be sent to pre-trial detention in Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) prison, while union activist Sok Narith was ordered to be sent to Correctional Centre 1 (CC1) prison, and a third activist, Sok Kongkea, was ordered released on bail and placed under judicial supervision.

All three face charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, the same charges faced by six other members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) who were arrested on 31 December 2021. The other six detained unionists currently held in CC2 prison are Chhim Sokhorn, Kleang Soben, Sun Sreypich, Hai Sopheap, Ry Sovandy, Touch Sereymeas.

Sithar was violently arrested yesterday while trying to join hundreds of other LRSU members at a strike site near the NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh. 119 local groups have called for all 9 unionists immediate release and for the incitement charges to be dropped, and for the company and government to address workers’ demands peacefully.

20 December 2021

We, as civil society organisations, trade union federations, confederations and associations working to promote and protect labour and human rights in Cambodia express our firm solidarity with striking employees at NagaWorld Limited who are currently exercising their fundamental rights to peacefully strike according to the Labour Law, the Law on Trade Unions and their statutes previously registered with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. We are extremely disappointed with the provisional disposition issued by the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance on 16 December 2021 which declared this strike to be illegal and call on NagaWorld to engage with its employees and their representatives directly and in good faith to resolve this dispute.

18 December 2021

More than 700 current and former employees of NagaWorld went on strike this morning in front of the Phnom Penh casino, and continued their strike after a Phnom Penh Court official informed them that the court had ruled it illegal.

The group of workers from the Labor Rights Supported Union of khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) were surrounded by hundreds of police, para-police and company security guards as they gathered this morning to reiterate nine demands, including the reinstatement of 365 workers who were among the more than 1,300 workers laid off by the company in April 2021.

Those layoffs unfairly targeted union members and leaders, and union leaders have filed complaints to the Ministry of Labour and Arbitration Council arguing the company violated Cambodian law and several ILO conventions. The layoffs were also often accompanied by improper compensation, according to LRSU leaders, who said in a press release that support for the strike action stood at 97% of the 1,653 members who voted.

10 December 2021

Environmental and land rights groups, indigenous communities, and other civil society organisations gathered to celebrate International Human Rights Day in 11 provinces and the capital between the 5th and 10th December 2021.

Despite ongoing intimidation and restrictions from authorities, more than 2,400 people joined together in public forums, discussions, marches and religious ceremonies to call on the government to respect human rights and address long-standing land grabbing cases, as well as to release and drop all charges against imprisoned human rights defenders.

1 December 2021

We, as representatives of trade union confederations, federations, associations and civil society organisations working to promote human rights and labour rights in the Kingdom of Cambodia are extremely disappointed with the intention and attempts to dissolve the union leadership structure and the unreasonable and unacceptable planned systematic reduction of staff during the COVID-19 crisis at NagaWorld Limited.

30 November 2021

On each day of this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, which runs from 25 November to 10 December, LICADHO is sharing key findings from its new report “Status Update”. The report details the findings of a survey of over 700 people, and shows that Facebook, the Cambodian government and other social media companies must do more to protect human rights online.

25 November 2021

Facebook dominates Cambodia’s social media space and, through inaction and neglect, has created a platform that is too often a site of government surveillance and harassment, as well as sexual harassment, discrimination, threats, and other harassment from private individuals.

In a new report, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) is calling on Facebook, the Cambodian government, and other social media companies to do more to protect human rights online. “Status Update: Harassment on Social Media in Cambodia” is a report detailing the findings of a survey of more than 700 people conducted by LICADHO. More than one-third (38%) of respondents had experienced online harassment, with LGBT+ people, youth, and activists facing such harassment at even higher rates. Moreover, 20% percent of women respondents had experienced sexual harassment online.

24 November 2021

We the undersigned civil society groups welcome the release of more than 27 wrongfully imprisoned and unjustly convicted activists from prison in recent days and celebrate the fact that they are reunited with their families. However, many of these activists continue to face criminal charges or remain under judicial supervision with onerous conditions as a result of exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. No action has been taken to reform the laws and systems that led to their persecution and which have destroyed the space for activism and political participation in Cambodia.

Considering that many of the activists have been released on bail or remain subject to probation for several years following a suspended sentence, they are no longer able to undertake their work to defend human rights or the environment, speak out against injustices, or participate in political life without fear of arrest. Such releases also do not remedy the fact that the activists were wrongfully convicted and that many were detained for over one year in overcrowded prisons that one activist described as “hell”.

12 November 2021

Six Mother Nature activists who are facing felony and misdemeanour criminal charges were released on bail this evening from Phnom Penh’s Correctional Centre 1 and Correctional Centre 2 prisons. They were reunited with their family’s after spending up to 14 months in prison. The six activists were also placed under judicial supervision, requiring monthly visits to local authorities and limiting their freedom of movement.

Sun Ratha and Yim Leanghy were arrested on 16 June 2021 and charged with plotting and insulting the King under articles 453 and 437(bis) of the Criminal Code. Ly Chandaravuth was also arrested on the same day and charged with plotting. Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea, and Phuon Keoraksmey were added to the case and charged with plotting in July 2021 while they were serving prison sentences from a separate conviction on incitement charges in May 2021.

On 5 November, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court suspended parts of Ratha, Kunthea and Keoraksmey’s sentences. They would have soon been eligible for release, but continued to be held under the detention order issued in this case by the investigating judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court in July 2021. The charges of plotting and insulting the King, which carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, relate to comments allegedly made during private online meetings.

12 November 2021

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning upheld the convictions of activists Rong Chhun, Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol and suspended parts of their sentences. The three activists were convicted of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 18 August 2021 for exercising their rights to freedom of expression.

Chhun must serve 15 months and 11 days in prison, with the remainder of his two-year sentence suspended by the appeal court. Kanika must serve 15 months and 5 days in prison and Nimol must serve 14 months and 24 days in prison, with the remainder of their 20-month sentences suspended. Chhun and Kanika have already spent more than 15 months in prison, while Nimol has been detained for over 12 months. They will remain under probation for three years following their release, and subject to a host of restrictive conditions such as not associating with each other and informing a prosecutor of any change of address or occupation under Articles 119 and 120.

The appeal court also upheld the order for the three activists to each pay 2 million riel ($500) in fines, and jointly pay 400 million riel ($100,000) in damages, both of which are unusually high amounts.

8 November 2021

Three Mother Nature activists who recently had portions of their “incitement” prison sentences suspended remain in pre-trial detention due to a judge’s order related to charges of plotting in a separate case.

This detention comes despite the decision of the Phnom Penh Appeal Court on Friday to suspend parts of their prison sentences in an incitement case. The three activists —Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey — were convicted on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code in May 2021 and sentenced to between 18 and 20 months in prison. The Phnom Penh Appeal Court suspended up to six months of their sentences on 5 November, which would have made them eligible for release from prison this month, as they have already been detained since their arrest in September 2020.

However, the activists continue to be held in pre-trial detention due to a second case, with an order issued by the investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 22 July 2021 in connection with additional plotting charges that were filed against the three activists in July 2021 under Article 453 of the Criminal Code. Three additional activists who are charged in that case also remain in pre-trial detention. Ratha, Kunthea and Keoraksmey, who were 28, 22 and 19 years old at the time of their arrest, were first arrested over their planning of a one-woman march to the prime minister’s house to discuss the filling in of the capital’s Boeung Tamok lake.

5 November 2021

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning suspended parts of the prison sentences of three imprisoned Mother Nature activists and placed them under judicial supervision for three years, meaning they face onerous reporting requirements or else risk being forced to serve the remaining sentences.

The three activists – Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey – were sentenced in May 2021 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code over the planning of a one-woman march to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to discuss the filling in of Boeung Tamok lake in the capital’s north. They have been imprisoned since their arrest in September 2020.

Ratha was originally sentenced to 20 months in prison, but this morning’s ruling resulted in six months being suspended. Kunthea and Keoraksmey had been handed 18-month sentences, and this morning they had four months of those sentences suspended. The trio’s pre-trial detention began on 6 September 2020. Two other Mother Nature activists, Chea Kunthin and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, were also convicted in absentia in the lower court case.

1 November 2021

This morning the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced a 16-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder to eight months in prison over content he shared on Facebook and Telegram. The child, the son of a detained political opposition member and an activist, was convicted of incitement and insult of public officials under Articles 494, 495 and 502 of the Criminal Code. He will serve four months and 15 days in prison, with the remainder of the sentence suspended.

The child is due to be released from prison this month but he will remain under probation for two additional years, during which time he will be required to appear before the court whenever summoned; inform the court if he changes address; and obtain permission to leave the country, among other conditions.

The trial hearing was open to the public and this morning monitors were permitted to enter the courtroom in which the child was present. Monitors were then ordered to leave the courtroom before the verdict was read. When leaving the courtroom after the verdict announcement, his mother was escorted out of the court building by officials as she attempted to inform monitors and the media who were waiting outside the courtroom about the verdict.

26 October 2021

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court today sentenced 10 currently detained political, social and youth activists to 20 months in prison and fined them 2 million riel each ($500) over charges of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. They each must serve from 14 to 15 months in prison, with the remainder of their sentences suspended. The 10 activists, already detained for over one year, are each due to be released from prison in November 2021, however they were placed under probation for two additional years, requiring them to alert the court if they move, change jobs or want to leave the country, among other conditions. Four additional individuals were also sentenced in absentia.

The sentenced social and youth activists, many of whom were part of the Khmer Thavrak movement, include Chhoeun Daravy, Hun Vannak, Mean Prummony, Koet Saray, Tha Lavy, Moung Sopheak, and Eng Malai. Daravy and Vannak were each sentenced to serve 15 months in prison, while the others must serve 14 months. They were arrested in August and September 2020 in relation to their peaceful gatherings around the court to call for the release of jailed union leader Rong Chhun, who remains in prison after being convicted of incitement on 18 August 2021.

The trial mostly consisted of the activists being asked if they had obtained prior permission to gather, and if they had someone from outside the country encouraging or paying them to engage in the peaceful calls for Rong Chhun’s release. In their closing statements, many of the activists noted that they had only engaged in peaceful demonstrations, that the conditions in Cambodia’s overcrowded prisons were difficult, and that the trial lacked justice.

22 October 2021

Authorities pushed women protesters to the ground and confiscated banners from a group of around 20 demonstrators who gathered in front of the French Embassy this morning. Police and para-police outnumbered demonstrators and used excessive force to disrupt the protesters from holding banners and speaking to the media.

The group of women protesters, often called the “Friday Women”, have for months gathered in front of various embassies and state institutions to call for the release of their imprisoned family members, who are former members or officials in the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by Cambodian courts in November 2017. They have previously been harassed and pushed by security forces during peaceful demonstrations.

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Authorities Shove, Harass Families of Detained Opposition

Three of the demonstrators entered the French Embassy to deliver their petition, including Prum Chantha, the mother of a detained 16-year-old with autism spectrum disorder. Her son was arrested in June 2021 for incitement and insult of public officials, while her husband Kak Komphear, a former CNRP official, has been in jail since June 2020 on charges of conspiracy and incitement. The other petitioners were Seng Chan Thon, whose husband Sun Thun was a former CNRP activist, high school teacher and local union leader and was arrested in June 2020; and Out Chanthy, whose husband Yoem Sareth was a former elected commune councillor in Phnom Penh for the CNRP and was arrested in March 2020.

17 October 2021

Land grabbing has affected more than 5,000 families in the last two years, showing no signs of slowing down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, arrests and jailing of land community members and activists has increased over the last two years, and as of October 2021, there are at least 21 land community members and activists who have been arrested, with 10 people imprisoned.

To celebrate Word Habitat Day, LICADHO is releasing a video about the impact of Covid-19 on community members and activists, and their ongoing struggle in exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms to fight for their land rights.

13 October 2021

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court indefinitely delayed the scheduled reading of a verdict in a case involving a 16-year-old child who is the son of a jailed former political opposition member, giving the reason that the judge in the case was “busy”.

The child, whose mother says has autism spectrum disorder, was charged with incitement and insult of public officials after being arrested on 24 June 2021. Evidence in the case included messages sent over Telegram. The charges under Articles 494, 495 and 502 of the Criminal Code carry a maximum of two years in prison as well as fines.

The child was previously denied release under court supervision on 3 August 2021 and has now been detained 111 days without access to his family. He was previously the target of violent attacks, including an incident in April 2021 when a brick was thrown at his head, requiring stitches.

28 August 2021

Two land community representatives in Svay Rieng province were sent to pre-trial detention today on charges of disobeying administrative measures and obstructing against the implementation of prevention measures, under Articles 10 and 11 of the recently passed Covid Law, which carry up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to 20 million riels each.

Ms. Yous Sophorn and Ms. En Soth, two representatives from Samaki Chek Meas community in Svay Chrum district, were summonsed by provincial police on Friday morning and were arrested after arriving at the police station. The summons related to a community protest in a rice field involving more than 100 villagers that took place on 2 August 2021, during which authorities accused the two women of not following proper health measures and fined them 2 million riels each. The Svay Chrum district governor told local media at the time that if the women did not pay the fine within one month, they would face additional legal measures.

UN experts in April raised concerns about the “excessive prison sentences and fines” in the government’s Law on Preventive Measures Against the Spread of Covid-19 and other Severe and Dangerous Contagious Diseases, or the Covid Law, which was hastily passed and enacted without proper consultations in March 2021.

18 August 2021

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.

11 August 2021

The government has unleashed a campaign to attack, jail and convict Cambodia’s environmental defenders and social activists who have raised warnings over issues like waste management, sand dredging, and deforestation, as well as labour and political rights.

In the run up to International Human Rights Day, LICADHO will advocate each week for the release of human rights defenders and highlight the brave and critical work done by these imprisoned activists. Six of these activists are environmental defenders from Mother Nature Cambodia, who are facing the outrageous charge of plotting against the state, two of whom are also facing additional charges of insulting the king. Others are longtime labour leaders, monks, and members of the youth activist group Khmer Thavrak.

These activists spoke out on issues important to Cambodia and have faced harassment, intimidation and prison sentences as a result.

It is time to drop these charges and release these activists and all human rights defenders now.