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2006 has been a bad year for human rights defenders in Cambodia. On January 1, two of the country's most prominent human rights activists woke up in Prey Sar prison, following their arrest the previous day on charges of defaming the government. Days later a third activist was also arrested and detained. Others went into hiding, victims of a crackdown on free expression that threatened to paralyze Cambodia's vibrant yet vulnerable civil society.

While international outrage helped to secure the release of the three jailed activists by the end of January, the arrests set the scene for one of the worst years for human rights defenders in recent memory. Although this report covers only the first ten months of 2006, there have been many more serious attacks on human rights defenders during this period than in the whole of 2005.