Murder of Kem Ley
10 July 2023
Citizens, political party representatives and civil society groups, including NGOs and activists, congregated today to mark the seventh anniversary of Kem Ley’s murder. They continue their call for a genuine and impartial investigation into his death to establish the truth and secure justice for him and his family.
10 July 2022
Civil society groups and political parties have gathered at multiple events to call for justice for Kem Ley and his family in recent days. Events and ceremonies were held in Phnom Penh and Takeo – Kem Ley’s home province – to mark the sixth anniversary of the political analyst’s murder.
About 70 unionists, youth activists and civil society members gathered this morning outside the Star Mart at the Caltex Bokor service station in central Phnom Penh where Kem Ley was shot dead while drinking his morning coffee on 10 July 2016. Participants laid flowers and held a monk blessing ceremony. The mart was shuttered as commemorators began to gather, while about 20 plainclothes security monitored the event.
Civil society groups continue to call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry, tasked with conducting an independent, impartial and effective investigation into Kem Ley’s death. The investigation into the killing was widely considered inadequate and failed to identify those beyond the shooter who may have been responsible for the murder.
9 July 2021
Today, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the unlawful killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 45 undersigned organizations reiterate their call for the Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry tasked with conducting an independent, impartial and effective investigation into Kem Ley’s death.
10 July 2020
Four years after political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead while drinking his morning coffee, the Star Mart at Caltex Bokor service station stood empty behind sealed shutters. But despite the authorities’ attempts to restrict all public commemoration of the popular commentator’s murder, former friends, colleagues and human rights defenders gathered in Phnom Penh and Takeo in the days leading up to the anniversary to pay tribute to his memory.
On Wednesday July 8, a group of monks and young activists were physically barred from holding a peaceful prayer ceremony at the site of Kem Ley’s shooting by a human chain of security forces. One young man wearing a t-shirt showing Kem Ley’s face was immediately arrested and made to sign a contract by district police.
The next day, a group of youth activists were blocked from travelling to Kem Ley’s family home in Takeo by heavily armed security forces. And today, scores of military police and security forces were deployed to block a convoy of monks, activists and supporters of the slain commentator from peacefully processing along the same route. Undaunted, they continued their journey on foot.
Rights groups continue to call on Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry to fully investigate Kem Ley’s murder, and urge authorities to cease all intimidation and harassment of people peacefully commemorating his death.
9 July 2020
Today, in advance of the fourth anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, we, the 30 undersigned organizations, call on the Cambodian authorities to create an independent Commission of Inquiry to conduct an effective and impartial investigation that is long overdue into Kem Ley’s death. We further urge Cambodian authorities to cease intimidation and harassment of persons peacefully commemorating his passing.
On July 10, 2016, Kem Ley was shot and killed while having his morning coffee at a petrol station in central Phnom Penh. Without conducting a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation, the authorities arrested Oeuth Ang, who identified himself as “Chuob Samlab” (meaning “Meet to Kill” in Khmer) and “confessed” to the killing. Following a half-day trial on March 23, 2017, which was widely criticized for failure to meet international fair trial standards, the court found Oeuth Ang guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. On May 24, 2019, the Supreme Court upheld his sentence.
8 July 2020
A youth activist has been arrested for trying to peacefully commemorate the four-year anniversary of Kem Ley’s murder as a group of monks and activists were physically barred by a mix of district police and paramilitary security forces from praying at the site of the popular analyst’s shooting.
The activist, who was wearing a t-shirt with Kem Ley’s face on it, was seized by police as soon as he arrived at the planned memorial. He was later released after signing a contract with local authorities.
Mixed security forces formed a human chain to block participants from holding a prayer ceremony at Phnom Penh’s Caltex Bokor service station, where the political commentator was shot dead while drinking his morning coffee on 10 July 2016.
4 November 2019
The Supreme Court issued a verdict this morning denying bail to Kong Raiya, who was arrested on 9 July 2019 after advertising in a Facebook post that he was selling t-shirts featuring the image of slain political analyst Kem Ley.
Raiya was charged with “incitement to commit felony”, along with Soung Neakpaon, who was arrested the day after Raiya at a memorial event for Kem Ley and faces the same charges. Both men are currently being held in CC1 prison in Phnom Penh.
Eighty-seven civil society groups, unions and grassroots communities, including LICADHO, issued a statement calling for the release of both Raiya and Neakpaon a few days after their arrest in July. The statement noted their arrests were arbitrary and a clear violation of the pair’s right to freedom of expression under the Cambodian Constitution. Five current human rights special rapporteurs from the United Nations (UN) also called for the dropping of all charges against both Raiya and Neakpaon and urged the Cambodian government to release both men. International human rights organization Amnesty International has labeled Raiya and Neakpaon “Prisoners of Conscience” and also called for their release, as has the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
25 July 2019
Kong Raiya and Soung Neakpaon, two activists arrested on 9 and 10 July 2019 while peacefully commemorating the anniversary of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, were denied bail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Both men were arrested after peacefully exercising their freedom of expression and were charged with criminal incitement. Raiya, 28, was arrested on 9 July 2019 after he posted on Facebook that he was selling t-shirts featuring the image of Kem Ley, and also posted the phone number of a taxi driver who could bring people to Phnom Penh to commemorate the slain analyst. Neakpaon, 29, was arrested the day after Raiya outside of the Caltex Bokor petrol station where Kem Ley was murdered three years earlier. Neakpaon, a former member of Kem Ley’s youth group, was holding a sign that read “End extrajudicial killings” prior to his arrest.
Neither of these men should be in prison for exercising their freedom of expression, which is guaranteed under Cambodian and international law. LICADHO reiterates the call from 87 civil society groups for authorities to immediately release both men and drop all charges against them.
12 July 2019
We, the undersigned civil society groups, denounce the unjustified use of security personnel during the third anniversary of political commentator Kem Ley’s death and call for the immediate and unconditional release of two activists, Kong Raiya and Soung Neakpaon, from detention and the dropping of all charges against them.
Both men were arrested for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression while commemorating the anniversary of the death of political commentator Kem Ley, who was murdered on 10 July 2016. Shortly after their arrests, both men were charged with criminal incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code and are being detained at Phnom Penh’s Correctional Center 1.
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.
9 July 2019
Today, on the third anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 24 undersigned organizations renew calls on the Cambodian government to establish an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into his killing.
On 10 July 2016, Kem Ley was shot and killed while having a morning coffee at a gas station located on Monivong Boulevard in central Phnom Penh. This killing occurred amidst a backdrop of attacks on human rights defenders and members of the political opposition, and a documented history of killings of human rights defenders with impunity in Cambodia.
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.
11 July 2017
This photo album covers the events that took place in Cambodia on 9 and 10 July 2017 to commemorate the killing of political analyst Kem Ley. Cambodians abroad also paid their respects to Kem Ley, with tributes taking place in Australia and Thailand. On 10 July 2016, Kem Ley was shot twice, in his chest and his head, at the Caltex petrol station in central Phnom Penh. The gunman Oeuth Ang was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2017, however justice has yet to be served due to numerous concerns about the adequacy of the criminal process in both the investigation and the trial.
10 July 2017
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the killing of Kem Ley, we, the undersigned, reiterate our concerns regarding the apparent lack of progress in investigating this case, as well as the inadequate investigation and trial of Oeuth Ang, the only person yet convicted or charged in relation to Kem Ley’s death. In light of the inadequacy of the investigation, we urge the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) to establish an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry, in line with international standards, to continue the investigation.
8 July 2017
One year after the murder of Kem Ley, we, the undersigned civil society groups, believe that justice has not yet been served for the late political analyst and the family, friends and colleagues he left behind.
The well-known political analyst and anti-corruption campaigner was shot dead at point blank range on 10 July 2016 while drinking coffee in a Phnom Penh petrol station. There has been no transparency in the murder investigation, and there are still many unanswered questions in the case.
23 March 2017
Three weeks after a four-hour trial hearing, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today convicted Oeuth Ang – otherwise known as ‘Chuob Samlab’ – of the premeditated murder of prominent political analyst Dr. Kem Ley as well as illegal possession of a weapon under Articles 200 and 490 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code. Presiding judge Leang Samnat sentenced Oeuth Ang to life imprisonment.
Despite compelling evidence that Oeuth Ang was the gunman who shot and killed Dr. Kem Ley, the lack of transparency in the investigation of Dr. Kem Ley’s death, the brevity of the trial proceedings, and the failure to fully investigate motive, potential accomplices and the circumstances of Oeuth Ang's arrest, raise serious concerns about the adequacy of this criminal process. In light of the inadequacies in the investigation into Dr. Kem Ley’s death, as well as in the trial proceedings, we, the undersigned civil society organizations, call for the establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of his murder, in accordance with international best practices.
12 March 2017
Four youths were arrested and detained for three hours today after police and para-police shut down a private screening of an Al Jazeera documentary on the murder of political analyst Kem Ley.
The documentary screening was due to be held in the private office of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), an organisation of youth activists and analysts. There were about 15 people waiting to watch the documentary when about 50 armed police and para-police surrounded the office and arrested the four youths. Moung Sony, Soung Neakpoan, Vorn Channout and Heng Samnang - all members of KSILA - were released at about 6pm, only after signing an agreement promising not to screen the film again without permission from authorities.
17 October 2016
On Sunday, 16 October, thousands of people joined a 90-kilometre funeral procession, from Phnom Penh to Takeo, to mark 100 days since the assassination of political analyst Dr. Kem Ley. He was shot dead in a busy Caltex petrol station cafe in central Phnom Penh on 10 July 2016. Over the past three months since he was murdered, there has still been no independent and credible investigation into his murder.
The procession started from Wat Chas, a pagoda in Phnom Penh, where over the previous two days thousands of people had travelled to pay respect.
24 July 2016
At 7 o’clock this morning, mourners will begin a procession carrying the body of Dr. Kem Ley from Wat Chas, Phnom Penh, to his home village of Ang Ta Kok, Takeo Province. It is expected that thousands of mourners will take to the streets to join the procession. On 10 July, Kem Ley was shot dead in a busy Caltex petrol station cafe in central Phnom Penh. One suspect, a former soldier, was arrested shortly after the shooting and remains in custody.
11 July 2016
We, the undersigned civil society groups, are outraged at the brutal murder of political analyst and grassroots organiser Kem Ley yesterday morning, and call for a prompt, thorough and independent inquiry into his death.