Cambodia: Arbitrary arrest of three Mother Nature activists

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment against three environmental activists and members of “Mother Nature”[1], namely Mr. Thun Ratha, Ms. Long Kunthea, and Ms. Phoun Keo Reaksmey, for denouncing the exploitation of Phnom Penh‘s Bueng Ta-mouk lake. The project aims to build a military base, which will destroy the habitat of many bird species and damage biodiversity, and is also expected to cause significant flooding in Phnom Penh.

According to the information received, on September 3, 2020, Ms. Long Kunthea and Ms. Phoun Keo Reaksmey were arrested by police in Phnom Penh as they were about to walk from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house in order to request a meeting with the Prime Minister to share their concerns over a number of environmental issues, including the development of Bueng Ta-mouk lake.

On the same day, Mr. Thun Ratha was arrested at his home in Khan Pur Sentchey District, Phnom Penh, by around 25 police officers, who surrounded the property for approximately two hours before arresting him. The police padlocked the property shut and left a letter displayed on the door informing that the operation was taken on the grounds that Mr. Thun Ratha “published the information without legal permission”, without specifying which information was published or what the legal grounds were for requiring permission over such a publication.

On September 6, 2020, the three were charged with “incitement to cause societal chaos” (articles 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code) and placed in pre-trial detention. They could face up to two years in prison. Mr. Thun Ratha was taken to the Correctional Center 1 while Ms. Long Kunthea and Ms. Phoun Keo Reaksmey were taken to the Correctional Center 2.

The Observatory reiterates its deepest concern about the fact that Cambodian authorities regularly use legal harassment and the politicised judicial system to target land and environmental activists[2], and recalls in particular that this is not the first time that Mr. Thun Ratha and other Mother Nature activists have faced harassment[3].

The Observatory strongly condemns the arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Thun Ratha, Ms. Long Kunthea, and Ms. Phoun Keo Reaksmey, which seem to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate environmental and human rights activities, and urges the Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them.