Judiciary and courts

A prominent anti-dam activist in Koh Kong province who has been jailed since October was convicted Thursday of illegal logging and given a suspended prison sentence, allowing him to walk free but leaving the shadow of a criminal conviction hanging over him. ...

Opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour, who has been in prison since August on incitement and fraud charges, had his request for bail on health grounds heard by the Supreme Court on Friday. ...

About 500 people gathered outside Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison on Tuesday to demand the release of form­er Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and la­bor activist Ros Si­phay, who were arrested two weeks ago for participating in a demonstration against the company. ...

More than a month has passed since National Anti-Deforestation Committee (NADC) named the people it suspects of profiting from the trade in illegal timber, but not a single arrest warrant or court summons has been issued since. As perpetrators continue to go unpunished, the illegal ...

The Koh Kong provincial court has delayed issuing a verdict for an environmental activist charged with illegal logging. ...

On trial at the Koh Kong Pro­vin­cial Court on Wednesday, anti-dam ac­tivist Ven Vorn denied the illegal logging charge laid against him last year over his involvement in the construction of a wooden community center, his lawyer said. ...

As parties prepare for Case 002/01 appeal hearings, set to resume on Tuesday, a new report by the Open Society Justice Initiative examines the legacy of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, identifying political interference and insufficient outreach as the court’s primary shortcomings. ...

Siem Reap police say they are waiting on an arrest warrant from the National Police before taking steps to locate and apprehend convicted Dutch pedophile Pieter Ceulen, who Siem Reap residents placed in town 11 days ago, the very day he was sentenced in Belgium. ...

The Ministry of Justice will request a salary raise for all of its judges, clerks and prosecutors, and has plans to create mobile court hearings, according to court officials yesterday. They will need the approval of Prime Minister Hun Sen as well as King Norodom ...

Another arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Sam Rainsy—who is living in France to avoid two years in jail for a defamation conviction—after he failed to turn up for questioning about a separate forgery and incitement case last month. ...

Government officials said the country’s Labor Court will be established in early 2017 while relevant officials study the technicalities of the court and get information as well as expertise from similar courts in other countries. Of all potential stakeholders, unions say they are the most ...

After more than a week traveling along remote forest trails in eastern Mondolkiri province, police and forestry officials transporting 30 large pieces of valuable timber seized from Vietnamese loggers earlier this month are expected to reach the end of their 120-km journey today, an official ...

Sourn Serey Ratha, president of the nascent Khmer Power Party (KPP), on Monday filed a defamation and incitement lawsuit against Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, following through on a threat he made last week. ...

In the wake of a crime spree that drew a public expression of concern from Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month, Justice Min­ister Ang Vong Vathana met with senior prosecutors from Phnom Penh and all 24 provinces on Fri­day and ordered them to ex­pedite ...

A third man died of gunshot wounds in Phnom Penh Wednesday night after an Interior Ministry official gunned down a village chief and his relatives when a neighborhood dispute escalated earlier in the day, police said on Thursday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s first state visit to Thailand today and tomorrow will be a milestone in enhancing previously frayed diplomatic relations with Cambodia’s largest neighbor and will also pay off economically, diplomats, executives and analysts say. ...

With the return of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to the National Assembly this week, following a boycott that began in November, analysts say there is a chance some of the party’s activists could be released from jail. ...

A seemingly minor dispute between an Interior Ministry official and a village chief in Phnom Penh turned deadly when the official gunned down the village chief and his relative on Wednesday afternoon, according to police, who offered wildly different reports of the shooting. ...

Military police in Phnom Penh on Wednesday arrested a seventh suspect in the kidnapping of three Chinese men freed on Monday from their captors, who had detained them for two months in a bid to make them pay back loans with the help of their ...

A private English tutor in Battambang province has confessed to repeatedly molesting multiple female students as young as 6, following his arrest at the home of one of the girls on Tuesday, an official said on Wednesday. ...

A senior human rights monitor in Banteay Meanchey province was questioned on Wednesday by the provincial court over a street protest that took place on Monday, but his organization, Adhoc, is claiming that the court breached judicial procedure in getting him there. ...

The environmental NGO at the center of an extortion scandal in Siem Reap province has a track record of using its employees as racketeers in order to enrich itself, according to officials who have previously dealt with the organization. ...

A protest leader was arrested during a demonstration on Monday morning outside Banteay Meanchey provincial police headquarters in Poipet City because authorities said the group of about 40 people did not have permission to protest. ...

An official at the Ministry of Justice says he hopes a new law on information access will help improve the country’s attitude toward its judiciary, which is widely seen as politically biased and corrupt. ...