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Flash Info | Supreme Court Overturns Convictions Against Two Boeung Kak Lake Activists

26 February 2024audio available

The Supreme Court this morning overturned the convictions of two land activists from the Boeung Kak Lake Community. The activists, 83-year-old Nget Khun (also known as Yeay Mommy) and 58-year-old Cheang Leap, had been convicted by two lower courts of making death threats in March 2012.

Members of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake Community faced a prolonged dispute after the government leased the lake to a private company in 2007. Community members were routinely imprisoned and convicted for defending their homes and speaking out against the forced evictions.

The charges related to an incident in which papers printed with death threats against former community member Ly Mom were found scattered outside her home. Ly Mom filed complaints against six Boeung Kak Lake Community members, including Khun and Leap. The six women maintained that they were not responsible for the threats.

Video | Tears of the Lake: Protect Cambodia’s Lakes on World Habitat Day 2022

5 October 2022audio available

Lakes and wetlands surrounding Cambodia’s capital are home to thousands of people and essential for livelihoods, flood protection and wastewater treatment. Their destruction for development projects is causing evictions, loss of income and food insecurity, and leaving Phnom Penh exposed to worsening flooding.

Briefing | The Fight for Freedom: Attacks on Human Rights Defenders 2018-2020

18 December 2020

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) today is releasing “The Fight for Freedom: Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, 2018-2020”.“The Fight for Freedom” is not an exhaustive list of all attacks targeting human rights defenders since the beginning of 2018. Instead, it highlights a number of high-profile cases where human rights defenders have been targeted for intimidation, arrest or imprisonment while trying to peacefully exercise their rights to association, assembly and expression as guaranteed both in Cambodia’s constitution and under international law.

Article | UN Reviews Human Rights Situation in Cambodia

30 January 2019

Cambodia’s human rights record comes under review at the UN Human Rights Council today as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

LICADHO contributed to two joint submissions with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Forum-Asia which catalogue state repression of human rights defenders, media and civil society, as well as the human cost of rampant land grabbing.

Article | 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence: Tep Vanny

26 November 2018audio available

To mark the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (25 November – 10 December) LICADHO is highlighting women land campaigners and human rights defenders (HRDs) who face state violence in Cambodia.

At least a half a million Cambodians have lost their land and homes in forced evictions over the last two decades and women have been at the forefront of peaceful protests demanding justice and fair compensation. Their activism has often been met with violent attacks by security forces as well as judicial harassment and arbitrary detention.

Over the 16 days, we will publish short profiles of women who – despite many hardships – continue to speak out in solidarity with others to demand justice.

We start with Tep Vanny (38), who has been at the forefront of Boeung Kak Lake community’s fight against forced evictions in Phnom Penh as well as being a fervent defender of human rights.

Media Album | Communities Celebrate World Habitat Day 2018

5 October 2018

Communities around the country celebrated World Habitat Day between 28 September and 5 October 2018.

This year's theme was “municipal solid waste management” and many organised garbage clean ups as well as discussions on housing and land rights.

More than 2,000 people participated in at least 30 communities.

Authorities shut down some events, claiming they were illegal, and others were cancelled or held indoors due to threats and intimidation.

Article | Authorities Stop Communities Collecting Garbage and Discussing Land Rights

1 October 2018audio available

At least two communities have been prevented from celebrating the United Nations’ World Habitat Day by Cambodian authorities and others have cancelled events out of fear of reprisals.

More than 2,000 people in at least 30 communities nationwide have planned events to raise awareness of this year’s theme – “municipal solid waste management” – as well as the annual theme: the right to housing. Activities are taking place between 28 September and 5 October 2018, many of them in communities affected by land grabbing and forced evictions or threatened by new developments.

According to the UN, World Habitat Day (WHD) is an opportunity to “reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter”.

Flash Info | Boeung Kak Lake Activists Get Suspended Sentences

24 August 2018audio available

This morning Boeung Kak Lake activist Tep Vanny and five other members of the community were found guilty of making a “death threat” against a former community member. They were each given six-month suspended sentences. Another charge of “public insult” was dropped by Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The case was revived in late 2016, despite the plaintiff, Ly Mom, having dropped her March 2012 complaint in October 2016.

The trial of Tep Vanny, Nget Khun, Cheang Leap, Kong Chantha, Tol Sreypov and Heng Mom began in July 2017 but was suspended by the judge when prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court.

Flash Info | Religious Ceremony at Boeung Kak to Call for Tep Vanny Release

15 August 2018audio available

Phnom Penh communities will hold a religious ceremony and candlelight vigil this evening in Boeung Kak to mark two years since the prominent land activist and human rights defender Tep Vanny was imprisoned.

Tep Vanny was arrested on 15 August 2016 and charged during a peaceful protest supporting five jailed human rights defenders. She was subsequently found guilty of “insulting a public official” and sentenced to six days in prison. While she was detained, three long dormant cases related to other peaceful protests were reactivated.

The single mother of two is currently serving a 30 month sentence. This evening's ceremony will mark her two years in jail and call for her release.

Statement | Civil society groups call for the release of Tep Vanny

14 August 2018audio available

Land activist and human rights defender Tep Vanny has been unjustly detained for two years as of tomorrow, for defending the rights of the Boeung Kak Lake community and her fellow Cambodians. We, the undersigned communities and civil society organisations, condemn her ongoing imprisonment and call on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Tep Vanny, drop all dormant criminal charges and overturn any convictions against her, so that she may return to her family and community.

Tep Vanny has fought tirelessly to protect the rights of members of her community following their forced eviction from their homes on Boeung Kak Lake, Phnom Penh, but also those of fellow human rights defenders campaigning for separate causes. As long as she is behind bars, Tep Vanny is prevented from carrying out her peaceful and valuable work.

Flash Info | Supreme Court Upholds Tep Vanny Conviction

7 February 2018audio available

The conviction of land rights activist Tep Vanny over her participation in a peaceful protest was upheld by the Supreme Court this morning as supporters gathered outside.

No plaintiffs or prosecution witnesses were present at the hearing, preventing cross-examination as was the case at the first instance trial and Appeal Court hearings. Witnesses for the defence, who were present in the courtroom, were not permitted to testify.

At a protest in Phnom Penh on 13 March 2013 – over the jailing of another activist – para-police beat and injured several members of the Boeung Kak Lake community. Nonetheless, Tep Vanny was convicted by Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 23 February 2017 for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances”, despite a lack of credible evidence.

Flash Info | Supreme Court Upholds Convictions of Boeung Kak Lake Activists

8 December 2017audio available

This morning the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of three Boeung Kak Lake activists – Tep Vanny, Kong Chantha and Bou Chhorvy – on charges of “insult [of a public official]” and “obstruction of a public official with aggravating circumstances”. Their six month sentences were also upheld.

No enforcement order was issued. This means their arrest and enforcement of the sentences can be ordered at any time at the discretion of the Phnom Penh municipal prosecutor.

Tep Vanny was immediately returned to Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) where she has been in detention since 15 August 2016. She is awaiting an appeal against a conviction and 30 month sentence in another protest-related case. Kong Chantha and Bou Chhorvy were not immediately detained.

Flash Info | Supporters Petition for Tep Vanny's Release After One Year in Prison

15 August 2017audio available

Supporters of land activist and human rights defender, Tep Vanny, have marked the one year anniversary of her unjust detention by calling for international help to secure her release.

A group from Boeung Kak Lake community delivered petitions to embassies and international organisations, starting Monday at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and at six embassies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They continued Tuesday at nine others, including the US, Japan, Germany and the European Union.

Tep Vanny was arrested a year ago and charged during a peaceful protest supporting five jailed human rights defenders who are now released on bail. She was subsequently convicted of “insulting a public official” and sentenced to six days in prison. While she was imprisoned, three long dormant cases related to other peaceful protests were re-opened in politically-motivated trials which fell far short of acceptable legal standards. She is currently serving a 30 month sentence. A further six month sentence is awaiting a final appeal decision and she is on trial on a third re-activated charge.

Statement | On the First Anniversary of the Grossly Unjust Imprisonment of Land Activist and Human Rights Defender Tep Vanny, CSOs Call for Her Release

15 August 2017audio available

Tep Vanny, one of Cambodia’s most prominent land activists and human rights defenders, will have spent one year in prison on 15 August for defending her community and exercising her human rights. We, the undersigned, condemn her arbitrary imprisonment. We call for her convictions to be overturned, for all ongoing politically motivated and unsubstantiated charges against her to be dropped, and for her immediate release from prison.

Flash Info | Court of Appeal Upholds Tep Vanny Conviction

8 August 2017audio available

This morning the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence of land rights activist Tep Vanny on a years-old charge which was reactivated following her participation in the peaceful "Black Monday" campaign last year. Today’s verdict follows an appeal hearing on 27 July in which no plaintiffs were present, preventing cross-examination and – as in the first instance trial in February – no credible evidence was presented by the prosecution.

The appeal attempted to overturn her conviction by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 23 February 2017 for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” in a trial which fell far short of acceptable legal standards. The case itself relates to a 2013 protest in Phnom Penh – over the jailing of another activist – where para-police brutally beat and injured Vanny and other protesters.

Flash Info | Tep Vanny Awaits Appeal Verdict

27 July 2017audio available

The conviction of land rights activist Tep Vanny over her participation in a peaceful protest was considered by the Court of Appeal today as supporters protested outside almost a year after she was first detained. No plaintiffs or prosecution witnesses were present at the hearing, preventing cross-examination and – as in the first instance trial in February – no credible evidence was presented.

At a 2013 protest in Phnom Penh – over the jailing of another activist – para-police brutally beat and injured Vanny and other protestors. Nonetheless, she was convicted on 23 February 2017 for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” in a trial which fell far short of acceptable legal standards, including a lack of cross-examination of the plaintiffs (security guards known as para-police).

The appeal seeks to overturn a two years and six months’ sentence as well as fines and compensation to the plaintiffs amounting to 14 million riel ($3,500). Since her arrest on 15 August 2016, Tep Vanny has spent 346 days in detention. A verdict will be announced on 8 August 2017.

Statement | Civil Society Calls for Justice for Tep Vanny at Appeal Court

27 July 2017audio available

We, the undersigned, call on the Court of Appeal to overturn the unjust conviction of Ms. Tep Vanny on charges of intentional violence with aggravating circumstances based on her peaceful activism at a 2013 protest, for which she received a draconian sentence of two years and six months’ imprisonment on 23 February 2017. The Court of Appeal will hear Ms. Tep Vanny's appeal against conviction tomorrow. On 15 August 2017, Ms. Tep Vanny will have spent one year in detention; her imprisonment is a clear attempt to silence one of Cambodia’s most fearless and outspoken defenders of human rights ahead of the national elections in July 2018.

Statement | The Dangers of Dissent: Attacks on Cambodia’s Human Rights Defenders

3 July 2017audio available

As Cambodia’s human rights situation continues to backslide, exposing and speaking out against state-perpetrated abuses is ever more crucial. In the last two years, however, human rights defenders and other critical or independent voices have been among the main victims of Cambodia’s fractious political situation.

In this latest in a series of briefing papers, LICADHO sets out threats facing those who stand up for human rights in today’s Cambodia. Long-standing tactics used to silence human rights defenders – judicial harassment by a politicized court system; state-sponsored violence; and intolerance of peaceful protest – have been reinforced by new incapacitating laws and targeted digital surveillance. Although the examples presented in this paper are by no means exhaustive, taken together they provide a snapshot into the kinds of abuses that human rights defenders have been routinely subjected to in Cambodia over the last two years.

Statement | Cambodian and International CSOs Condemn Removal of Banners Calling for the Release of Human Rights Defenders

9 May 2017audio available

We, the undersigned Cambodian and international civil society organizations, condemn the removal by district and commune police authorities of banners calling for the release of six human rights defenders. Banners were removed from the offices of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and Mother Nature in Koh Kong’s Smach Meanchey commune on 2 May 2017, as well as from three residences in Koh Kong province’s Srae Ambel district on 3 May 2017.

Statement | Tep Vanny Convicted Again as Para-Police Attack Supporters

23 February 2017audio available

We, the undersigned civil society groups, condemn today’s unjust conviction and sentencing of Tep Vanny and the latest outrageous violence perpetrated by para-police against her supporters outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

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