Capital Court Convicts 33 of Incitement in CLV-DTA Case
Published on 29 April 2026
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning convicted 33 people, including 14 who were being detained in pre-trial detention, of incitement related to their expression over the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA).
The convictions included the three members of the Paris Peace Agreement (PPA) activist group whose July 2024 arrests sparked a wave of social media expression and subsequent government crackdown over the border development framework. By mid-September 2024, more than 100 people had been arrested and more than 60 had been charged and imprisoned over the CLV-DTA issue. The government withdrew from the CLV-DTA later that month.
This morning's convictions were originally part of a single criminal case that was later split into five separate cases. All the people were charged with incitement to commit a felony under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code.
The three members of the PPA - Srun Srorn, Pheung Sophea, and San Sith - were sentenced to the maximum two years in prison and fined 4 million riel (about USD$1,000). They are scheduled to be released from prison in July this year.
Following their arrests, political activists and social media users began to organise and criticise the CLV-DTA on social media. Two social media users who were arrested in the week after the PPA activists' arrests, Thel Thilen and Pov Lita, were sentenced to 22 months in prison this morning.
The court also sentenced San Oeun, Kim Voeun, Chin Chamrong, and Heng Kimly to two years in prison and fined them 4 million riel. Oeun and Voeun are both opposition party politicians who were arrested in August 2024.
Another political activist, Nhep Sarom; an opposition politician, Chin Bunnaroth; and a social media user, Hor Sokhon, received two-year prison sentences and 4 million riel fines.
Political activist Sem Sophal and another man, Touch Ratanak, were sentenced to 22 months in prison.
Other defendants who received 18-month sentences with the remaining prison time suspended include Chhay Vet, Chak Beanmony, Nob Chamroeun, Heng Chheng Hour, Nov Vuthy, Nov Vannoun, San Phanith, Phat Chheng Horng, Kak Raksmey, Kong Vichet, Moeuk Sam Ath, Hoeut Hoeuy, Ran Meng, Hou Run Eng, Hin Meng Hoeung, Sat Lyhong, Von Phai, Hun Rina, and Phat Socheat.
Details of the convictions and prison sentences are listed below. (Note: The first of the five groups was not mentioned at the hearing.)
| Name | Charge(s) | Prison Sentence, Fine |
| Case #4861 (2) | ||
| Srun Srorn, Pheung Sophea and San Sith | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 2 years, $1,000 |
| Chak Beanmony | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 18 months (suspended sentence) |
| Case #4861 (3) | ||
| San Oeun, Kem Voeun, Chin Chamrong and Heng Kimly | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 2 years, $1,000 |
| Thel Thilen and Pov Lita | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 22 months |
| Chhhay Vet, Nob Chamroeun, Heng Chheng Hour, Nov Vuthy and Nov Vannoun | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 18 months (suspended sentence) |
| Case #4861 (4) | ||
| Hor Sokhon and Nheb Sarom | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 2 years, $1,000 |
| Sem Sophal | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 22 months |
| San Phanith, Phat Chheng Horng, Kak Raksmey, Kong Vichet, Moeuk Sam Ath, Hoeut Hoeuy, Ran Meng, Hou Run Eng and Phat Socheat | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 18 months (suspended sentence) |
| Case #4861 (5) | ||
| Chhin Bunnaroth | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 2 years, $1,000 |
| Touch Ratanak | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 22 months |
| Hin Meng Hoeung, Sat Lyhong, Von Phai and Hun Rina | Incitement to Commit a Felony | 18 months (suspended sentence) |
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