Crime and law enforcement

Twelve Preah Vihear villagers were called to court this week regarding an ongoing land dispute they claim has resulted in the bulldozing of their family land and livelihood. The villagers are among some 67 families in Kulen district’s Srayong Cheung village who say the government sold ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday began the trial of six people for their involvement in clashes that broke out between civilians and police near Monivong Bridge after a protest on September 12. The six men were all charged with intentional violence with aggravating circumstances ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday sentenced two government officials to three years in prison, with one year suspended, after they were found guilty of aggravated fraud. Nuon Sarath, 42, a former officer from the Justice Ministry’s civil department, and Keo Sophal, 48, a former ...

The Asian Human Rights Commission has launched an online petition to pressure the Cambodian government to release 21 union activists and workers charged in connection with labor protests last month. Twenty-three workers were arrested in a violent crackdown by government police and security forces early January, ...

Anti-human trafficking police in Phnom Penh arrested three Cambodians and two Chinese nationals after the group tried to traffic two young women—who had been promised wealthy husbands—to work as prostitutes in China, police said Monday. Keo Thea, chief of the municipal anti-human trafficking police, said the ...

Two residents of the Borei Keila community remained hospitalized Sunday after a Valentine’s Day clash with authorities on Friday that left 19 people injured, a community representative said. Although most of the 19 were only slightly injured, two women were more severely hurt and are still ...

The Forestry Administration in Preah Vihear province on Saturday raided a remote cabin in Choam Ksan district where they found 200 pieces of illegally felled luxury wood, police said Sunday. The 15 cubic meters of wood uncovered included the Thnong, Beng and Neang Noun varieties, and ...

As lawyers for 21 defendants denied bail by the Court of Appeal last week wait for the Supreme Court to respond to their appeals, the most high-profile of the detainees is speaking out via social media. On Friday night, Prak Sovannary, wife of Vorn Pov – ...

A brigadier general in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) whose home and rubber plantation in Mondolkiri province were raided by police last week claimed Sunday that the authorities had apologized to him after he threatened them with a lawsuit. Police had raided Brigadier General Chhit ...

A local police official in Banteay Meanchey province allegedly ordered a villager to shoot a 16-year-old boy with an assault rifle during a crackdown on illegal fishing on Tuesday, a rights group said Friday. The boy, Eang Sok, who was hit by bullets in both feet, ...

At least six people were injured on Friday when a small group of Borei Keila villagers were evicted from the grounds of an unfinished building in Phnom Penh that they began occupying this week in a bid to draw attention to a years-long fight for ...

More than 60 wooden homes in Pursat province were burned to the ground Wednesday by officials in Veal Veng district, who claimed that the owners were living on state land, rights group Licadho said. “On Wednesday morning, police, military police, RCAF soldiers and the deputy provincial ...

After the Court of Appeal denied bail to 21 jailed protesters on Tuesday, 16 labor unions and associations announced Wednesday that they will retaliate by calling a nationwide labor strike in the middle of March. The unions, which mainly represent workers in the garment industry, said ...

Anguished cries from supporters and family members echoed outside the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh yesterday as they received the news bail had been denied. They had been hoping for the release of 21 people detained since a brutal government crackdown in early January. On ...

The Anti-Corruption Unit on Monday ordered the arrest and imprisonment of a former Preah Vihear province tax official who was convicted in absentia in December and sentenced to three years in prison for exploiting his position for personal gain. According to the ACU’s announcement, former provincial ...

The Cambodian government must immediately and unconditionally release the 21 garment workers and human rights defenders who have been detained since early January, FIDH and its member organizations Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human ...

Prak Sovannary tries to put on a brave face. She has just heard that two of 23 men arrested during a violent crackdown on garment worker protests in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month have unexpectedly been released on bail.Her husband, Vorn Pao, a prominent activist and union leader, is not ...

UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has asked the government of Cambodia to lift a ban on public gathering that has been in force for a month. A statement also said Kiai met and raised the issue of the blanket protest ban with Secretary of State for ...

At least 11 people were murdered during domestic disputes or committed suicide after suffering domestic violence in the past two months, local rights group Adhoc said in a statement Monday. Only two perpetrators were charged in these crimes, Adhoc said, highlighting the lack of law enforcement. “Adhoc ...

Independent radio station owner Mam Sonando filed his latest request with the Information Ministry on Monday, requesting a TV license and a radio relay station to push his popular radio broadcasts farther into the provinces. Mr. Sonando, the owner of Beehive Radio and a longtime government ...

Sixteen unions threatened Monday to organize a nationwide strike if the 21 activists and protesters jailed following garment industry protests on January 2 and 3 are not released on bail Tuesday. The unions also called for charges against the 21 prisoners, 16 of whom began a ...

Defence attorneys will now turn to the Supreme Court after a Court of Appeals judge denied bail this morning for all 21 people still detained from clashes with authorities during garment strike demonstrations last month. The presiding judge said he decided not to allow bail based ...

A brigadier general in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) whose home and rubber plantation in Mondolkiri province were raided by police over the weekend said Monday that he was not responsible for the dozens of pieces of illegal luxury wood confiscated during two separate ...

Phnom Penh’s traffic police officers, whose reputation for bribe taking is renowned, will soon be monitored by a new mobile police unit to ensure they uphold the law, the Ministry of Interior said. The Special Team Monitoring Traffic Law Enforcement will ensure that traffic police are ...