Law and judiciary

Military police, forestry administration officers and Wildlife Alliance officials on Wednesday raided a house in Pursat province used to facilitate the illegal wildlife trade, seizing nearly 80 kilos of snakes. ...

The Australian Parliament is considering a motion to condemn Cambodia’s political crackdown, with lawmaker Mark Butler declaring Australia has “a solemn duty” to take action to defend Cambodia’s “fledgling democracy”.​ ...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a 30-month sentence for land activist Tep Vanny on charges relating to a 2013 protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house that turned violent, leaving the Boeung Kak resident to serve out more than a year of her remaining ...

Cambodian People’s Party spokesman Chhim Phal Virun was questioned Tuesday morning as a witness in the “treason” charges brought against former opposition leader Kem Sokha, his former colleague at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR). ...

Senior government figures yesterday noted major flaws in an ongoing drug crackdown, among them a lack of rehabilitation for incarcerated users, during a day-long review of the campaign yesterday. The government also proposed establishing five ill-defined “white villages” – or drug-free locations – on the ...

The National Assembly’s Permanent Committee met to discuss a proposed lèse majesté law yesterday, as criticism of the law and draft constitutional amendments continued to mount. National Assembly President Heng Samrin presided over the meeting, where it was decided to forward the draft law banning ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has accused a Kandal province businessman of defamation and operating an illegal digging site, a few weeks after he allegedly shot into the ground to scare off officials trying to inspect his land. ...

Five more suspects have been arrested and are being interrogated by authorities in relation to the murder of three forest patrollers last Tuesday in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, authorities confirmed yesterday. ...

Police in Mondulkiri province yesterday arrested a military officer who is a suspect in a shooting that killed three people during an operation to crack down on illegal logging. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the Council of Ministers would hold a meeting today to prepare amendments to the constitution and the penal code to create laws against insulting the king. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered a fiery speech yesterday, threatening to “attack” members of the opposition with Soviet-era rocket launchers, while also claiming he would arrest them anywhere in Asia. ...

Former opposition leader Kem Sokha was denied bail this morning by the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, his lawyer Choung Choungy has confirmed. The hearing was held under a tight security presence, with Sokha brought in by police convoy before dawn. Human rights monitors and ...

The draft of the new Law on the Chamber of Commerce is again being reviewed by the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC). Once the proposed changes to the draft are completed, the law will be sent to the Council of Ministers for further discussion and approval, ...

A proposed access-to-information law more than a decade in the making was unveiled to the public yesterday, with just one item left to finalise – punishments for officials who refuse to disclose public information. ...

The Ministry of Justice today confirmed that a proposed lèse majesté law would be among a series of legal amendments considered by the Constitutional Council on Friday. ...

The Constitutional Council is planning to meet later this week to discuss amendments to the Constitution, including changes to an article guaranteeing the right for citizens to form organisations and political parties. ...

China’s growing presence and investment in a fast-developing Cambodian port and province have pushed up the crime rate and brought instability, its governor said in a letter to the government. ...

The Constitutional Council is planning to meet later this week to discuss amendments to the Constitution, including changes to an article guaranteeing the right for citizens to form organisations and political parties. The document, a letter of invitation to local media, outlines an agenda for the ...

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court has sent a man suspected of illegal logging in the Preah Vihear temple forestry conservation area to pre-trial detention, according to the provincial Environment Department. ...

Local officials who were sent to interview Cambodians facing deportation from the US allegedly attempted to extort bribes from the detainees and their families, according to documents filed in a California court. ...

Two activists from the conservation group Mother Nature were tried yesterday in Koh Kong for photographing a vessel at sea, with their lawyer asking the court to dismiss the charges due to a lack of evidence that they had committed any crime. ...

Former Funcinpec official and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng was found guilty in absentia of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen today for comments made in a private phone conversation that was secretly recorded and disseminated without his knowledge. ...

Social media celebrity and card-carrying CPP member Thy Sovantha yesterday said she will file a lawsuit against wildlife NGO head Suwanna Gauntlett alleging discrimination after the latter allegedly denied her access to an ecotourism program the group is launching today in Koh Kong province.​ ...

Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have warned tourist boat companies they will be shut down if they operate without legal permission or fail to join the tourist boat association.The warning came after a meeting between provincial councilors, provincial authorities, representatives of the tourist boat association, and ...