Wrongfully Detained Prisoner Count Reaches Record High
Published on 14 August 2026
The number of Cambodians imprisoned due to their speech or activism reached a record high in recent months, according to data collected by LICADHO. While the government has consistently arrested political activists, journalists, union members and social media users over the past five years, the number of people jailed over charges related to the use of their rights reached a new record of 131 people in April, and remains elevated through August.
LICADHO’s Prisoners of Interest page tracks the imprisonment of individuals on charges linked to their political activities, activism or speech. Over the past five years, LICADHO has recorded the arrests and detention of political opponents, activists, land and environmental defenders, trade unionists, journalists, and social media users. The Prisoner of Interest figures reflect cases that LICADHO has investigated, documented, and published with the person’s or their family's consent, meaning they do not provide a full account of the breadth of the government's crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly.
Two major spikes in arrests emerged in the last two years. First, nearly 100 people were arrested in 2024 for sharing opinions or mobilising around the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Agreement. Many were released after several weeks or months in detention, but others received lengthy prison sentences and remain languishing in prison.
Second, the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict that began in mid-2025 unleashed a wave of government repression and arrests over opinions and expression about the conflict, much of which took place on social media.
Freedom of expression, assembly, and association are protected under Cambodia’s Constitution. Despite this, people who peacefully exercise these rights are routinely charged with vaguely defined offences including incitement, insult, and plotting – the latter carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years. These charges have repeatedly been used to silence activists, including five environmental activists from Mother Nature Cambodia, who were convicted of plotting after conducting peaceful advocacy. More recently, charges of demoralisation of the army and supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence have been levelled against citizens for commentary related to the border conflict.
Once arrested, an activist faces the prospect of lengthy pre-trial detention in some of the world’s most overcrowded prisons, while alternatives such as bail and community service programs remain woefully underutilised. As a result, chronic overcrowding in these facilities continues to balloon; as of June 2026, the 19 prisons monitored by LICADHO had an average occupancy rate of 352%. Overcrowding only adds further strain on prisons’ already minimal amenities and resources, with many facilities failing to provide even basic necessities such as adequate food, water, and sleeping space. An international rights group reported that at least 140 activists and opposition members in recent years have been coerced into issuing public confessions and apologies to avoid the inhumane conditions.
Thirty new Prisoners of Interest have been documented by LICADHO in 2026, including activists, journalists, and social media users. They include Chea Vuthy, a 27-year-old monk who was arrested in April over social media comments about the treatment of people displaced by the border conflict, and Hem Channy, a former Cambodia National Rescue Party opposition official who is serving a seven-year prison sentence following her arrest in April.
The escalating campaign to criminalise fundamental freedoms looms over the 2027 Commune Elections and 2028 National Election. Every citizen has the right to feel safe to voice their opinion, participate in politics, and cast their vote without fear of imprisonment.
The 118 Prisoners of Interest currently detained must be immediately and unconditionally released, and their charges must be dropped. Charges that continue to linger over other activists and political opponents who have been released must similarly be dropped. Speaking out, peacefully assembling, and participating in politics are not crimes.
