This morning, political prisoner Kong Raya was released from CC1 after serving his full 18 month prison sentence for “incitement to commit a felony” under Articles 494 and 495 of Cambodia’s criminal code.

The 26 year old former President of the Cambodian Student Network was initially arrested in August 2015 on the basis of a Facebook post calling for “colour revolution” – a term the government commonly uses to characterise peaceful movements as acts of violent revolt. His arrest came less than a month after Prime Minister Hun Sen called on police and armed forces to take action over any group or individual attempting a “colour revolution”.

He was convicted and sentenced on 15 March 2016 after months of pre-trial detention, a verdict subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. His conviction was the first in a spate of crackdowns on online expression.