Cambodia Monthly News Summary
Published on 1 February 2010
Human Rights Watch Releases Report on Mistreatment in Cambodian Drug Detention Centers
25 January 2010. Human Rights Watch released its report, " Skin on the Cable ", which found that people who use drugs in Cambodia are at risk of arbitrary detention in centers where they suffer torture, physical and sexual violence, and other forms of cruel punishment. The report documented how detention centers, mandated to treat and 'rehabilitate' drug users, instead subject them to electric shocks, beatings with electrical wire, forced labor, and harsh military drills.
Opposition Leader Convicted of Racial Incitement
27 January 2010. Sam Rainsy and two villagers, Meas Srey and Prom Chea, were convicted by the provincial court on charges of racial incitement and destroying demarcation posts on Cambodia's border with Vietnam. Rainsy, who was in Paris, was tried in absentia and sentenced to two years in prison and fined 8 million riels (approximately US$2,000). Meas Srey and Prom Chea were each sentenced to one year in prison for destroying public property. The court also ordered the three to pay 55 million riels (approximately US$13,000) in compensation for the removal of border markers with Vietnam.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Visits Cambodia
30 January 2010. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cambodia, Professor Surya P. Subedi, made his second visit to Cambodia from 18 - 30 January to monitor the human rights situation and to assist with strengthening cooperation to improve the protection and promotion of human rights in Cambodia.
