The government and courts must take strong action to investigate and punish police and military personnel responsible for serious abuses - including the alleged execution of a woman in front of her children - during the November 15 land eviction in Preah Vihear province.

According to eyewitnesses, the two people shot dead during the eviction, Mr Oeun Eng, 31, and Mrs Toeun Chheng, 29, were unarmed and posing no threat to the authorities at the time of their shootings.

Mr Oeun Eng was shot in the chest, reportedly by a uniformed man hidden in bushes some distance away, and died almost immediately. Another man standing next to him was shot in the shoulder but survived. The two men were standing amidst a group of people, most of whom leapt to the ground by the authorities began shooting; they may have been shot simply because they were too slow to get to the ground. The fact that both men were shot in the upper body indicates the bullets were fired directly at them.

The death of Mrs Toeun Chheng is even more disturbing. According to further investigation by LICADHO, initial reports that she was shot while protesting the arrest of her husband were incorrect. In fact, according to multiple witnesses, she was shot in cold blood by police while she was alone with her four children at her house.

Witnesses say that police officers went to the Toeun Chheng’s house during the eviction, apparently looking for her husband, a community representative named Moeun Chanthon, who was not at home.

Toeun Chheng was in front of her house, attempting to shield her four children from the police, when one of the officers moved forward, raised his AK47 rifle and shot her in the chest. The officer then stepped up to her, as she lay bleeding on the ground, and ripped a necklace from her neck to steal it. He also took a motorcycle from the house. Toeun Chheng‘s four children, the youngest a baby and the oldest aged 11, were present during the shooting. Toeun Chheng was taken to a local medical clinic but later died.

Soon after his wife's shooting, Moeun Chanthon was arrested. Police found him at a roadblock which the community had erected to protest the arrests of two people - including Moeun Chanthon's brother, Moeun Chantha - a day earlier. After the arrest, a policeman named Sun Vannak allegedly beat Moeun Chanthon severely, including by hitting him repeatedly on the head with a baton, according to witnesses.

On the orders of police, the body of Oeun Eng was hurriedly cremated and Toeun Chheng’s body was quickly buried after she died.

At least six other people were injured, five of them shot, during the eviction.

In addition to the excessive violence, the police and military officers also looted property of the 317 families who were evicted. During the eviction, hundreds of people were rounded up by police and other authorities and taken away to be detained, while others fled into nearby forest. The authorities then burned down the houses of all of the families, stealing their property - including motorcycles, household items and clothing - beforehand. Most of the detained villagers were later released and, without any possessions except for what they were wearing, told to leave the area permanently. After the looting and burning of houses, the authorities celebrated by killing a cow, cooking its body to eat and burying its head.

As many as 280 personnel, comprising soldiers, police, military police and Forestry Administration officers, reportedly participated in the eviction, which was carried out on the orders of the provincial governor. According to information received by LICADHO, the eviction was led by deputy provincial governor Sar Sam Ol, Forestry Administration official Pol Kham Narei, Choam Ksan district chief Kao Loung.

The eviction occurred near Sra Em village, Kantuot commune in Choam Ksan district, where the 317 families had recently settled on vacant land after coming to the area in search of land.

At least 15 arrested people remain detained and have been sent to Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison, including the Funcinpec-affiliated provincial deputy governor Preah Vihear, Meas Savoeun. Two injured persons, both shot in the leg, are among those still detained.

LICADHO welcomes the reported comment of Ministry of Interior spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak (in The Cambodia Daily, Nov 21) that the level of violence used by authorities in the eviction was "unacceptable". LICADHO urges that appropriately strong action be taken by the government, judicial and National Assembly officials, including:

- The suspension of deputy provincial governor Sar Sam Ol, Forestry Administration officer Pol Kham
Narei, and Choam Ksan district chief Kao Loung from their positions, until proper investigations into
the eviction are completed.

- A high-level judicial investigation into alleged crimes committed during the eviction. This should be led
by the Prosecutor-General of the Court of Appeal, who has authority over prosecutors and judicial
police nationwide.

- Prosecution of members of the authorities responsible for murder, manslaughter, theft or other crimes
during the eviction. Because of provincial government officials' involvement in the eviction,
prosecutions should occur in a court other than the Preah Vihear Provincial Court.

- A simultaneous investigation by the National Assembly's Commission on Human Rights into the
events, including the actions of local and provincial authorities, before, during and after the eviction.

- The Ministry of Interior should grant immediate access by human rights workers and independent
doctors to all of the arrested villagers who are still detained.

- The Phnom Penh Municipal Court should promptly investigate the cases of the detained villagers to
establish if there is convincing evidence of crimes committed by them and, if not, they should be
immediately released.

The Preah Vihear eviction was the most deadly in Cambodia since the killing of five people in a March 2005 violent eviction by police and military police in Kbal Spean, Banteay Meanchey province. No officers were convicted of committing any crime in that eviction; murder, attempted murder and manslaughter charges initially filed against some officers were later dropped.

LICADHO reiterates its call for the Cambodian government to order a moratorium on all forced mass evictions in the country.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Kek Galabru, LICADHO president, 012-940-645
▪ Am Sam Ath, Monitoring Technical Supervisor, 012-327-770

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer