Cambodia: Conviction of human rights defender Rong Chhun to two years in prison

The Observatory has been informed about the conviction of human rights defender Rong Chhun to two years in prison. Mr. Chhun, a prominent labour rights defender, is the President of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), and a member of the Cambodian Watchdog Council (CWC) [1].

On August 18, 2021, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Rong Chhun to two years in prison and a fine for “incitement to commit a felony or cause social arrest” under Article 495 of the Criminal Code of Cambodia.

Two other human rights activists, Sar Kanika, a member of the youth group Khmer Thavrak [2] and an ex-member of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and Ton Nimol were sentenced on the same charge to 20 months in prison and a fine, for publicly calling for Rong Chhun’s release.

Along with a fine of two million riel (approximately 420 Euros) each, the three human rights defenders were also ordered to jointly pay 400 million riel (approximately 83 800 Euros) to the Cambodian Border Affairs Committee, plaintiff in the case, as compensation.

The Observatory recalls that Rong Chhun was arbitrarily arrested at his home in Phnom Penh on July 31, 2020. On August 1, 2020, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged him with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest” and ordered his pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh’s Correction Centre 1 (CC1). Rong Chhun’s detention came following several public statements he made on behalf of the CWC in which he reported community land loss as a result of the demarcation of the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol were arbitrarily detained in August 2020, amid a wave of arrests of human rights defenders and activists in relation to their planning of peaceful assemblies that were to take place at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh in September 2020 in order to demand the release of Rong Chhun. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged Sar Kanika with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest” and placed her in pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh’s Correction Centre 2 (CC2).

On June 8, 2021, Rong Chhun and Sar Kanika were denied bail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which claimed that the crime for which they were being detained affected social security and was therefore unbailable.

The Observatory further recalls that Hun Vannak, Chhoeun Daravy, Tha Lavy, Koet Saray, and Eng Malai (aka So Metta), members of Khmer Thavrak, as well as Muong Sopheak and Mean Prommony, member and Vice-President of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), respectively, remain detained on the same charges in relation to the same acts. Their bail application was rejected by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on May 18, 2021.

The Observatory strongly condemns the ongoing arbitrary detention of the above-mentioned human rights defenders and reiterates its deepest concern about the Cambodian authorities’ systematic legal harassment to target all critical voices, and about the serious deterioration of the human rights situation in the country, including through increasing obstacles to the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in Cambodia.

The Observatory is further concerned about the risks for the health of all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in the overcrowded Cambodian prisons and calls on the authorities to immediately take all necessary measures to ensure their access to adequate healthcare and protective equipment, and reduce the prison population through the adoption of non-custodial measures.

The Observatory urges the Cambodian authorities to guarantee the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Rong Chhun, Sar Kanika, Ton Nimol, Hun Vannak, Chhoeun Daravy, Tha Lavy, Koet Saray, Eng Malai (aka So Metta), Muong Sopheak, and Mean Prommony. The Observatory also calls for their immediate and unconditional release, along with the release of all other human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Cambodia, in order to protect their right to health during the COVID-19 pandemic.