Civil and political rights

Opposition leaders on Sunday called on supporters to consider mass demonstrations after the conviction on Friday of CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha, while a government spokesman warned that those who attempted to heed the call to action would pay a “very high price.” ...

With rebuke raining down on the ruling CPP for its judicial assault, arrests and intimidation of the political opposition and other critics, Cambodia’s annual assessment by the U.N. Human Rights Council will be held next week in Geneva. ...

The international community should put “maximum pressure” on the Cambodian government to improve the country’s human rights situation, including possible sanctions on top officials, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans said on Friday.   ...

An annual reporting requirement under the contentious Law on Associations and NGOs, or LANGO, is being intentionally misinterpreted by local police, according to a group of NGOs in Oddar Meanchey province. ...

UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith has responded to growing concerns among the human rights community that she is not fulfilling her mandate. ...

Cambodian police say they are investigating the declaration of a coup against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but have laughed off any suggestion of the threat being serious.   ...

A visiting U.S. human rights envoy on Tuesday urged the government to release and drop charges against five current and former rights workers arrested in April amid what he called a deteriorating political situation in which the courts have disproportionately targeted state critics. ...

International media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement released on Tuesday that it was concerned by what it characterized as a “surge” in threats against journalists and news organizations in Cambodia in recent weeks.   ...

Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin sang the praises of UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith on Saturday, following a report in the Post on Friday that she had lost the confidence of many in the human rights community.   ...

The opposition plans to attend the National Assembly’s Standing Committee meeting today to debate the lifting of immunity for two of its lawmakers.   ...

Concerns are mounting among the human rights community, particularly in the wake of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, that UN Special Rapporteur to Cambodia Rhona Smith is failing to fulfil her mandate in a time of what one observer termed “fear and confusion”. ...

A reporter in Mondulkiri province who climbed a mango tree to look into a police official’s compound for a rumored stash of illegal timber over the weekend says he was later detained and threatened with a beating. ...

Anti-government protests marking the ninth “Black Monday” culminated in violent clashes between activists and security guards in Phnom Penh on Monday.   ...

After more than 10 months in pretrial detention, a trio of activists from environmental group Mother Nature yesterday faced court for allegedly threatening to destroy dredging equipment during a protest against sand mining in Koh Kong province last year. ...

The organizers of a June 17 human rights training workshop in Preah Vihear say it was shut down by police, though local authorities yesterday insisted officers only went to ask that it be postponed for pragmatic concerns.   ...

The CNRP said on Wednesday that Germany’s visiting minister for economic cooperation and development agreed to relay a message to the E.U. seeking help in mediating a resolution to current political tensions in Cambodia between the opposition and ruling CPP.   ...

The Court of Appeal on Monday denied bail to four rights workers and an election official imprisoned in connection with a sex scandal surrounding deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, upholding the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision last month.    ...

Activists behind the “Black Monday” protests said on Sunday they would demonstrate yet again today despite the threat of more arrests, this time in front of the Appeal Court, where four employees of rights group Adhoc and an election official will have their bail hearing ...

The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution accusing the Cambodian government of laying politically motivated charges against the opposition and calling for aid cuts if its respect for human rights fails to improve—a loud echo of a resolution it passed just six months ago. ...

A new set of security measures at Prey Sar prison, designed to stop rampant drug use at the facility, is instead being selectively applied to prisoners being held in a politically sensitive case related to an ongoing sex scandal involving opposition leader Kem Sokha.   ...

Seven activists arrested in Phnom Penh on Monday morning for attempting to demonstrate against the recent arrests of four human rights workers and an election official were released by nightfall, a familiar conclusion to the latest “Black Monday” demonstration. ...

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the fractious political situation in Cambodia on Sunday, in a two-sentence statement issued through his press office that rights activists on Monday blasted for its timidity and brevity.   ...

Familiar scenes of police ripping banners during heated scuffles with protesters marked the fourth “Black Monday,” as activists continued to call for the release of human rights workers who have been in Prey Sar prison for almost one month.   ...

The United Nations on Sunday voiced alarm at the escalating political tensions in Cambodia, including attempted arrests of politicians, amid allegations from the opposition that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party is persecuting it. ...