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Flash Info | Samrong Tbong Community Members Harassed After Eviction Notices
10 May 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Police and district guards blocked a march of around 60 Samrong Tbong community members living next to Boeng Tamok lake in northern Phnom Penh. This morning, authorities were violent and shoved community members who were walking to the Prek Pnov district hall to meet officials after six families received eviction orders signed on 8 May to make way for road construction.
Around 60 police and district security guards cordoned off community members, pushed them back, were violent with some of the members and prevented the group from walking to the district hall. Residents were forced to return to their homes escorted by security forces.
Samrong Tbong community members have faced repeated police harassment, criminal charges and threats of eviction as the government has parcelled off and filled in large swathes of Boeng Tamok lake, giving plots of land to various government ministries, officials and well-connected individuals.
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Flash Info | Opposition Party Leader Arrested at Phnom Penh Airport
9 May 2024
The president of the Nation Power Party was arrested at the Phnom Penh International Airport this morning on an order to appear for questioning at the Internal Security department as he was returning from a trip meeting supporters in Japan.
Sun Chanthy was arrested by police this morning at 9 a.m., according to a police statement, which adds that Chanthy was being questioned on the charge of “incitement to disturb social security,” which falls under Article 495 of the Criminal Code.
A separate document from the Phnom Penh prosecutor’s office dated 7 May instructs police to arrest Chanthy and produce him at Phnom Penh police’s Internal Security department. The document was signed by prosecutor Chreung Kmao on the same day the Nation Power Party (NPP) posted a video on its Facebook page of Chanthy addressing party supporters in Japan.
Flash Info | Union Leader Convicted, Imprisoned Ahead of Confederation Election
8 May 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Morm Rithy, the vice-president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), was arrested last night outside of the confederation’s offices, after he was convicted in absentia of incitement and discrediting judicial decisions and sentenced to 18 months in prison early Tuesday.
In addition to serving as the vice-president of CLC, Rithy, 35, is the head of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation. His conviction relates to a 24 February 2022 Facebook video in which the union leader was critical of an arrest of a member of his federation at Jinbei Casino in Sihanoukville.
The verdict was announced without Rithy or his lawyer present, as his lawyer had requested a delay in the trial due to a scheduling conflict. The court found Rithy guilty of incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, as well as “Discrediting a Judicial Decision” under Article 523, and fined him two million riel (US$500).
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Statement | Cambodian Government Must End Human Rights Abuses in Microfinance Sector
7 May 2024
The Cambodian government must urgently act to address predatory lending and abusive collection practices in the country’s microfinance sector, local and international CSOs urge in a submission ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review (UPR) of Cambodia.
The call to address long-standing and widely reported abuses in Cambodia’s microfinance sector comes as 30 recommendations made in the 2019 UPR cycle to improve the human rights situation have gone unheeded due to a lack of meaningful government oversight. This has enabled Cambodia’s microloan sector to balloon in recent years, with average loan sizes rising to over $5,000—the highest in the world—and coerced debt-driven land sales happening in significant numbers across the country.
Statement | Enough is Enough: Stop Persecuting LRSU Unionists
6 May 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
We, the undersigned civil society groups, unions and confederations, are dismayed by the Supreme Court’s unjust decision last week to uphold convictions against current and former members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). Authorities and courts have repeatedly failed to provide justice to LRSU activists. They must release union president Chhim Sithar from prison immediately and restore the freedoms of all defendants in this case.
On the morning of 3 May, the Supreme Court upheld convictions against eight current and former LRSU members, who were previously sentenced by the Phnom Penh Capital Court to prison sen-tences ranging from one to two years. Of the eight defendants, LRSU President Chhim Sithar is in prison serving a two-year sentence, and five other defendants are at risk of being immediately im-prisoned. The five defendants — Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Sun Srey Pich and Touch Sereymeas — were sentenced by the Phnom Penh Capital Court to 18 months in prison.
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Media Album | Cambodian Government Must End Human Rights Abuses in Microfinance Sector
6 May 2024
As Cambodia’s human rights record is reviewed at the Human Rights Council on 8 May 2024, we urge UN Member States to recommend granting debt relief and implementing free education and healthcare services, in order to reduce debts and put an urgent stop to abuses linked to microfinance loans.
LICADHO, Equitable Cambodia, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, and FIAN Germany are releasing a series of infographics today in four languages to highlight the debilitating indebtedness faced by many Cambodians and the predatory tactics used by microfinance institutions and microloan providers to target vulnerable, poor and Indigenous communities.
UN Member States must hold Cambodia accountable during the Universal Periodic Review and make recommendations to immediately end human rights abuses in the country’s microfinance sector.
LICADHO, Equitable Cambodia, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, and FIAN Germany submitted a report to the Human Rights Council on these concerns. The submission can be accessed here.
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Flash Info | LRSU Verdicts Upheld, Sithar to Remain in Prison
3 May 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
The Supreme Court this morning upheld the convictions of current and former casino union members, prolonging the incarceration of LRSU President Chhim Sithar.
The four-judge panel delivered its verdict the morning of 3 May upholding convictions for eight defendants. Their sentences range from two years to one year in prison, with Sithar being the only defendant currently serving her two-year sentence.
While Sithar is expected to be released later this year once she completes her sentence, today’s verdict puts five of the defendants at risk of immediate imprisonment. The five defendants — Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Sun Srey Pich, and Touch Sereymeas — were given 18-month prison sentences by the Phnom Penh Capital Court.
Media Album | Celebrating International Labour Day 2024
1 May 2024
Federations, unions, workers and civil society groups across Phnom Penh celebrated International Labour Day on Wednesday.
Events were held outside the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, near Wat Phnom and the National Assembly in Phnom Penh.
Union leaders and workers spoke about the progress they have made in the labour movement but warned against the criminalisation of unions, persecution of labour activists, and the recent regression in the workers' rights, their right to advocate for their peers and fair wages and work conditions.
Video | The Power of Unity
1 May 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
We stand strong with workers in Cambodia and across the world, and join them in the fight for better working conditions, fair contracts and wages, and respect and dignity for all kinds of labour.
To mark International Labour Day 2024, LICADHO, partner civil society groups and unions are releasing a video to highlight the achievement and challenges faced by the workers’ rights movement in Cambodia, and to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of labour activists and unionists, such as Chea Vichea.
We stand together with Cambodian unions in the ongoing fight for justice and labour rights.
Document | Re-open the investigation into the murder of Chut Wutty
26 April 2024
Today marks 12 years since Chut Wutty was shot dead on April 26, 2012. Wutty was killed by In Ratana, a military police officer, in the Veal Bey area of Bak Khlong Commune, Mondol Seima District, Koh Kong province, while he accompanied two journalists from The Cambodia Daily investigating a forestry crime near a protected area in Phnom Kravanh mountain. Wutty’s death and the lack of justice for the murder have caused a great pain and sorrow for his family, friends, environmental activists, forest activists, forest communities, and their supporters.
The incident of Chut Wutty’s murder by a gunman serving in the military makes it clear that citizens' activism in the conservation of natural resources continues to be a target, facing intimidation, harassment and attack by forest criminals with close ties to the authorities.
Media Album | Cambodians Call for Justice 12 Years After Murder of Chut Wutty
26 April 2024
Youths from the Mother Nature Movement and other activists today led a commemorative walk in honour of murdered environmental activist Chut Wutty. Wutty was shot dead on 26 April 2012 whilst patrolling a protected forest area with two journalists in Koh Kong province. A military police officer, In Rattana, was also fatally shot on the same day and blamed for Wutty’s killing following a flawed investigation.
Around 20 youth activists from Mother Nature and six monks gathered in front of Phnom Penh’s Night Market this morning to begin the march. Participants painted messages on their faces and wore white headbands, conducted chants, held a short performance, and carried banners calling for justice for the murder. The march concluded at Hotel Cambodiana, where participants submitted a petition calling for an independent investigation into the killing to authorities from the Ministry of Justice.
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Statement | Immediately Release and Drop Charges Against Human Rights and Environment Defender, Mr. Koet Saray
8 April 2024
We, the youth, local communities, unions, associations, and local civil society organisations mentioned below are deeply disappointed by the arrest of Mr. Koet Saray, the President of the Khmer Student Intelligence League Association (KSILA).
Note that Mr. Koet Saray was arrested by plainclothes police officers in Phnom Penh and sent to the Phnom Penh Capital Court at 3:45pm on April 5, 2024, while he was working at the office. Mr. Koet Saray, the President of the Khmer Student Intelligence League Association (KSILA), was arrested and sent to Phnom Penh Capital Court without clarification of the exact charge or notice to his family. The arrest was made on the order of Mr. Seang Heang, Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Capital Court, on April 5, 2024 under the charge of incitement to commit a felony or to disturb social security. According to a press release issued by the Phnom Penh Capital Court Prosecutor's Office, he faces an additional charge of committing a misdemeanor after sentencing for a misdemeanor, and was sent to pre-trial detention at Prey Sar Prison during the afternoon of April 7, 2024.
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Flash Info | President of Student Activist Group Arrested and Sent to Pre-trial Detention
7 April 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Koet Saray, President of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), was today sent to pre-trial detention at Correctional Centre 1 prison by an investigating judge at the at Phnom Penh Capital Court following charges of “committing a misdemeanour after sentencing for a misdemeanour” and “incitement to commit a felony” under Articles 88, 494, and 495 of the Criminal Code. The charges relate to ongoing land conflicts in Preah Vihear province.
On 6 April at around 3:30pm, police officers confirmed that Saray had been transported to the Phnom Penh Capital Court from the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat, where he had been held overnight following his arrest on 5 April at around 4:00pm by approximately 10 mixed uniformed and plainclothes police officers outside of KSILA’s office in Phnom Penh. Saray’s arrest followed an order issued by the Office of the Prosecutor at Phnom Penh Capital Court on 5 April to bring Saray to Phnom Penh Capital Police for questioning on “incitement to cause serious chaos to social security”.
One monk and around a dozen individuals from various youth groups and civil society organisations had been present at the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat on 6 April to monitor the situation. A few plainclothes police officers had also been deployed nearby, where they took photographs and videos and prevented human rights defenders from bringing food to Saray.
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Statement | Strong Common Ground and Commitment to Further Steps in NCP Dialogue Relating to Microfinance Loans in Cambodia
19 March 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
On 13-15 March 2024, representatives of social impact investor Oikocredit, Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A. and of three human rights NGOs, Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Equitable Cambodia and FIAN Germany, came together for a dialogue. This was part of the process related to the submission made by the three NGOs to the Dutch OECD National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct concerning the alleged negative impacts of some microfinance loans on Cambodian borrowers.
During the dialogue, there was strong common ground between the parties in their commitment to improve the livelihoods of Cambodian borrowers. There was also a joint recognition of the urgent issues in the Cambodian microfinance sector and the need to take action to address them. The parties have identified and committed to concrete next steps towards a positive outcome of the dialogue.
The Dutch NCP has commended both parties on their good faith engagement in the ongoing NCP process.
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Flash Info | 25 People Imprisoned in Preah Vihear Land Dispute
12 March 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Twenty-nine people were charged by the Preah Vihear Provincial Court on 8 March 2024 with “clearing forestland and enclosing it to claim for ownership” under Article 97(6) of the Law on Forestry. Four of the 29 people charged were released on bail, and the remaining 25 have been sent to pre-trial detention in Preah Vihear provincial prison. They include 13 men and 12 women.
The group was arrested earlier this month after mixed armed forces accompanied by forestry administration officials entered a disputed area with tractors intended to clear the land. Authorities fired live ammunition, used a smoke grenade, and arrested villagers.
The charges are the latest development in a longstanding land dispute involving Seladamex Co., Ltd., which affects families from Mrech, Srayang Tboung, and Kdak villages as well as families who have more recently migrated to the area. Seladamex was granted an Economic Land Concession in 2011 in Srayang and Phnum Tbaeng Pir communes in Kuleaen district.
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Statement | Re-open STT’s Photo Exhibition and Hold Authorities to Account
12 March 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
We, the undersigned, are disappointed by the actions of the Sangkat Nirouth Police Station in Khan Chbar Ampov, Phnom Penh, which ordered the owner of Champei Garden Restaurant to stop displaying photographs that were part of an exhibition by Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). The authorities provided no reason or justification for their actions.
The topic of the photo exhibition was Housing and Life , and it had opened on 25 February 2024. It aimed to highlight the ongoing concerns and challenges facing Cambodia’s urban poor communities, with the purpose of finding solutions.
Media Album | Communities Across Cambodia Celebrate International Women’s Day 2024
8 March 2024
Around 2,000 people gathered across Phnom Penh and multiple provinces including Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Koh Kong, Kratie, Preah Vihear, Pursat, Svay Rieng, Stung Treng, and Tbong Khmum to celebrate International Women’s Day 2024. Between 3 March and 8 March, land and Indigenous community members, labour rights activists, youths, children, local authorities, INGOs and local NGOs joined events to give speeches, march together, join discussion forums, sing songs, and share solidarity meals.
Video | Your Voice is Power
7 March 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Join us to stop violence, discrimination and harassment against women, human rights defenders, and those who love others of the same gender!
In celebration of International Women's Day 2024, watch this video inspired by the achievements of women across Cambodia in their pursuit of respect for human rights.
Flash Info | Armed Forces Fire Weapons, Arrest Villagers Amid Longstanding Preah Vihear Land Conflict
6 March 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
A group of mixed armed forces including gendarmes and police officers accompanied by forestry administration officials mobilised this morning to secure disputed land in Preah Vihear province, resulting in the use of live ammunition and arrests.
A number of villagers have reportedly been arrested and taken to Preah Vihear provincial capital. Their current location is unknown.
Villagers reported that mixed forces armed with automatic rifles had entered the area shortly before dawn, and were accompanied by tractors to clear the disputed land. Fearful of property destruction and forced evictions, villagers gathered to demand the forces leave the area. A confrontation ensued in which a video captured live ammunition being shot repeatedly by authorities as well as the use of a smoke grenade.
Flash Info | Samrong Tbong Community Reports Violence as Government Clears Land
27 February 2024![audio available](/images/audio-small.svg)
Samrong Tbong Community members this morning reported injuries stemming from an altercation with authorities over the filling-in of the Boeung Tamok lake area in Phnom Penh. The lake has been parcelled off by the state and given away to politically connected institutions and individuals over the past several years.
Members of Samrong Tbong Community gathered at the area yesterday and this morning to protest the state’s excavation of the community’s land. Community members are facing legal complaints in at least four cases that have been opened since 2022 due to their land activism.