Cambodian Government Releases Activists From Prison
A poster shared on Facebook calls for the release of detained Mother Nature Cambodia activists. From the top left, clockwise: Yim Leanghy, Thun Ratha, Ly Chandravuth, Phuon Keo Reaksmey, Sun Ratha, Loung Kunthea (Facebook).
The Cambodian government released 26 imprisoned political, environmental, and youth activists between November 5 and November 17, according to Reuters. Those released include members of the environmental advocacy group Mother Nature Cambodia, the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, and youth activist group Khmer Thravak as well as protestors like trade union leader Rong Chhun and members of the “Friday Women'' movement, according to Human Rights Watch. All were arrested within the last two years on charges of alleged conspiracy against and subversion of the Cambodian government. Although they were released, the government did not drop charges against them.
These recent releases are a small victory for Cambodian civil society, which has had an established history of running afoul of the government. Three members of Mother Nature Cambodia—Long Kunthea, Phuon Keo Reaksmey and Thun Ratha—were arrested on September 3, 2020, for planning a peaceful one-woman march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s residence in protest of the partial filling of Lake Boeung Tamok, according to RSF. As seen in a now-inaccessible video released by Mother Nature Cambodia, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces had been authorized by the Royal Government of Cambodia to construct a new military command center on 30 hectares of land to be set aside and filled in, according to Cambodianess. This was despite an earlier 2016 governmental decree declaring the 3,240-hectare (8,000-acre) Boeung Tamok Lake as state-public land. Kunthea, Reaksmey, and Ratha, who feature prominently in the video, were charged with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest,” according to Camboja News.
This isn’t the first time that Mother Nature has been the target of arrests and detentions by the government. One month earlier, members Sun Ratha, Yim Leanghy, Ly Chandravuth, were arrested through Phnom Penh Municipal Court warrants for what the National Police spokesperson Chhay Kimkhoeun alleged was “plotting” and “using foreign funds to topple the government,” according to the Voice of America: Cambodia. Ratha, Leanghy, and Chandravuth were also among those who were released over the week-long period.
However, although they were released, none of the 26 activists have had their charges dropped. Instead, according to a justice ministry spokesman, part of the reason the government let them go was to reduce overcrowding in the county’s prisons, according to Reuters. The activists had their original sentences shortened to 14 months and were released on a three-year probation period, during which they will be prohibited from interacting with other convicted activists, leaving Cambodia without notifying and informing the prosecutor, or once again instigating “incitement to cause societal chaos” at risk of serving their original sentences on top of new ones. Human Rights Watch reports that “violating these conditions could result in prompt rearrest and return to prison, yet several activists told the media that they would continue their peaceful activism.”
Despite releasing the 26 activists, an estimated 60 more political prisoners are still held in custody, 30 of which are members of the CNRP. The Cambodian government continues to face immense international pressure for perceived violations of human rights and infringements on civil society: in August 2020, the European Commission partially suspended Cambodia’s trade preferences under the “Everything But Arms” program because it found the Cambodian government to be engaging in “serious and systematic violations” of civil, political and labor rights. Still others, such as Mother Nature’s Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, have, according to DW, accused the royal government of releasing prisoners to improve its image on the international stage ahead of events such as the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit.