ARTICLE

Military police guard the entrance to the court

On October 27, 2009, the Siem Reap provincial court convicted Chan Norn and Chang Savoeun of assault and robbery, sentencing the two men to one year imprisonment each and ordering each to pay compensation of 3,000,000 riel (USD$750) to complainants Chey Sovann and Em Sothea. The complaint had stemmed from a long-standing land dispute which turned ugly on March 22, 2009, when police opened fire on a group of protesting villagers, resulting in four villagers being shot. The court acquitted seven other villagers who were facing the same charges.

The trial of the nine villagers, which had been held a week earlier on October 20, 2009, was heavily guarded. Initially 20 military police had been guarding the court; however, after over 120 villagers and supporters came to observe the trial, reinforcements were called in. Shortly after the hearing began at 8am, approximately 150 military police armed with guns, shields and electric batons arrived and surrounded the court compound, ensuring that none of the supporters were able to enter the court and observe the hearing. As the supporters waited outside the court, compound police harassed several villagers, accusing them of forming a demonstration to disturb the hearing and continually demanded that they leave.

At 11am a monk, Luon Sovath who was waiting along with the other supporters outside the court compound, was detained by senior monks on orders from the Siem Reap governor, Sou Phearin. Luon Sovath was forced into an waiting car and taken to a nearby pagoda. There, senior monks including the Siem Reap provincial chief monk accused him of gathering and inciting villagers to demonstrate. They demanded that he sign a letter promising to cease further incitement. Luon Savath refused to sign the letter and was released an hour later. Commune police continued to follow and monitor the activities of NGO workers who accompanied the villagers to their homes following the trial.

Background to Land Dispute
The court case related to a dispute over 475 hectares of farm land located in Spean Tnaout and Anlong Samor commune, Chi Kreng district, Siem Reap province. One hundred and seventy-five families from four villages in Chi Kreng commune and 44 families from Anlong Samnor commune have disputed ownership of the land since 2005.

Trouble first began in 2005 when the Chi Kreng families attempted to repair an irrigation system on the land. The Anlong Samnor families refused to allow the repairs and sought intervention from the provincial authorities. The following year the Anlong Samnor families sold sections of the land to private business interests who later sold the land to farmers and officials from outside the district.

In December 2008, provincial authorities conducted an investigation into the background of the land dispute and accused the 175 Chi Kreng families of taking the land from the 44 Anlong Samnor families. On December 26, 2008, authorities arrested three village representatives from Chi Kreng and a journalist on charges of physical assault and incitement. They were brought to Siem Reap provincial court and detained in the provincial prison.

On January 14, 2009, approximately 200 villagers protested by burning car tires in front of Siem Reap provincial court and calling for the release of the three village representatives and journalist. On January 29, the four were released on bail.

March 2009 Shooting Incident
On March 22, 2009, 80 Chi Kreng villagers protested on the disputed land, demanding that they be allowed to farm. They were met by approximately 90 police and military police, accompanied by the Siem Reap prosecutor, the provincial deputy governor, district governor and other local authorities. The police opened fire on the villagers in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Four villagers suffered gunshot wounds and 43 were detained by police for questioning.

The detained Chi Kreng villagers were forced to thumbprint promises to abandon the land dispute and to return the land to the 44 Anlong Samnor families. During the violence, journalists and NGOs staff were threatened and refused entry to observe the disputed land.

That same evening, 34 out of the 43 villagers were released, but nine villagers were detained in Siem Reap prison and charged with robbery and physical assault. The charges stemmed from a complaint by Chey Sovann and Em Sothea. The pair alleged that the land belonged to them now, and that the villagers had illegally harvested rice from the land. They also claimed that the villagers assaulted them when they attempted to stop them from harvesting the rice.

On November 27, 2009 Chan Norn and Chang Savoeun filed an appeal against their conviction.

LICADHO condemns the use of spurious criminal charges to threaten and intimidate villagers into forfeiting their land, or to punish them for attempting to assert their rights.