Seng Theary's Hunger Strike Highlights Plight of Unjustly Imprisoned
Published on 11 June 2025; Joint Organizations
Seng Theary, a prominent human rights lawyer, former NGO leader and opposition political activist, is embarking on her fourth hunger strike from prison since she was detained in June 2022. The risks to Theary’s well-being are significant and we are deeply concerned about her health. Her prolonged detention has made her increasingly vulnerable to health complications.
Theary’s 14-day strike, which is set to conclude on 14 June to mark the end of her third year in prison, is intended to draw attention to her own imprisonment and call for the release of all political activists and human rights defenders unjustly detained in Cambodia’s prisons.
Theary, a dual US-Cambodian citizen, was convicted in a mass trial alongside dozens of other political opposition activists, receiving a six-year sentence for incitement and conspiracy to commit treason. She was arrested outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 14 June 2022, dressed as the Statue of Liberty in protest of the charges. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention judged her detention to be a result of her exercising her rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association, and deemed her detention arbitrary and a result of political discrimination.
We echo the calls of the Working Group and urge the government to remedy the arbitrary violation of Theary's rights by immediately and unconditionally releasing her. We stand in solidarity with Theary, wish her good health, and hope that her actions lead to justice for all political activists and human rights defenders unjustly detained in Cambodia's prisons.
Update: After the release of this statement, information received from prison officials indicated that Seng Theary ended her hunger strike on the evening of 9 June.
This joint statement is endorsed by:
1. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
2. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
3. Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
4. Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
5. Equitable Cambodia (EC)
6. Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer
