Judiciary and courts

In a surprise move, four human rights workers and an election official, collectively known as the “Adhoc 5”, were released from pretrial detention yesterday evening, 427 days after they were taken into custody on bribery charges relating to an opposition sex scandal. ...

The 13-month investigation into five current and former human rights workers known as the ‘Adhoc 5’ has ended, a court spokesman said on Wednesday, paving the way for a trial in a case widely condemned as being unjust and politically motivated. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen used a public speech yesterday to mercilessly mock former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, taunting him to make good on a promise to return to Cambodia, sarcastically referring to him as a “hero” and even singing a few bars of a classic ...

In the first and only day of her trial yesterday, prominent alleged timber trader Heng Samnieng claimed that Military Police officers had tried to sell off pieces of timber confiscated by authorities in Stung Treng, where she was arrested in October while allegedly attempting to ...

The Justice Ministry has launched a 100-day campaign to improve the court system. Ministry spokesman Chin Malin said while the system was widely regarded by outsiders as fair and without corruption, it was now time for a self-assessment to confirm its effectiveness. ...

Amnesty International today accused the ruling CPP of using its grip on the judiciary to systematically harass and intimidate civil society and urged the government to drop cases against opposition activists and human rights defenders. ...

Four senior officials for rights group Adhoc will remain behind bars after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Court of Appeal’s ruling that they should be held in detention while awaiting trial, but gave no reason for the decision. ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision to keep four officials from rights group Adhoc imprisoned while the court investigates their case was right “according to the law,” a Supreme Court official said on Monday during an appeal hearing. ...

The Supreme Council of the Magistracy decided yesterday to appoint or transfer 82 court officials. According to a statement released by the council and signed by its secretary-general Sam Prachea Manith, the judicial body held a vote yesterday during its 28th session while also discussing 11 ...

At least three women – one pregnant – and a man were hurt in a clash with security forces at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after land rights activist Tep Vanny was jailed for two and a half years over a 2013 protest. ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has issued a warrant for the temporary seizure of Top World Garment Cambodia Ltd’s property in order to get the employer to appear and find a solution for workers still owed their December salaries. ...

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a $25,000 fine for three environmental activists who fled the country after being convicted of threatening to destroy a sand dredging barge in Koh Kong province in 2015. They are now debating returning home, however, after the court ...

Undeterred by the $500,000 lawsuit filed against him by Prime Minister Hun Sen, political commentator Kim Sok returned to the radio waves on Tuesday to say that the government could settle the case against him by releasing video footage of Kem Ley’s murder. ...

Political commentator Kim Sok’s worldly possessions—two iPhones, an iPad and $200 in savings—may soon become Prime Minister Hun Sen’s property after the premier filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the commentator for allegedly claiming that the CPP killed Kem Ley. ...

About 100 workers from the Chung Fai Knitwear factory in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district protested in front of the capital’s municipal court yesterday, demanding a judge remove a fee they are unable to pay. ...

A United Nations expert has called on the government to immediately release human rights and National Election Committee officials who have been controversially accused of bribing a witness.“The charges are seen as politically motivated and in November 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ...

The Appeal Court yesterday dismissed a bail request for Tep Vanny, the prominent Boeung Kak land activist charged with intentional violence related to a protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house in 2013, a case reactivated after she was arrested during a Black Monday protest ...

Opposition Senator Hong Sok Hour was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday for forgery and incitement after presenting a border treaty on Facebook that the CNRP says merely contained a mistranslation. ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged two officials from the Preah Vihear mines and energy department with corruption yesterday, with a former colleague linking the charges to an illicit 2014 land sale. ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday decided to proceed with charges of “forging public documents” and “incitement” against former opposition senator Hong Sok Hour and said a verdict would be announced on November 7. ...

The Justice Ministry is investigating accusations that surrogacy services are being offered in the Kingdom as rumors spread online. Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana said yesterday at a three-day workshop launching the “Explanatory Note of Domestic Adoption,” he was unsure if the rumors pertained to ...

Well-known timber trafficker Heng Samneang was charged on Sunday with illegal logging and interfering with the work of public officials, according to a Phnom Penh Municipal Court officer, days after she allegedly tried to retrieve some of her ill-gotten timber with the help of a ...

Military police said they arrested a well-known timber trafficker in Stung Treng province on Thursday after she and a group of stick-wielding thugs attempted to retrieve a pile of wood officers had seized a day earlier. ...

Environmental campaigner and Areng Valley community leader Ven Vorn lost his appeal against his one-year suspended sentence for “collecting forest products without permission” yesterday at the Appeals Court. Judge Kim Danny did not give reasons why the court decided to uphold the March ruling of the ...