Human rights
Civil and political rights
Kim Sok gets 18 months and must pay $200K in compensation to CPP
Political commentator Kim Sok was sentenced to 18 months in prison this afternoon on charges of incitement and defamation for appearing to suggest that the ruling party was behind the killing of popular analyst Kem Ley. ...
Niem Chheng and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kim-sok-gets-18-months-and-must-pay-200k-compensation-cpp
Court denies analyst Sok’s request for bail
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision to deny jailed political analyst Kim Sok’s request for bail, also rejecting his request to summons Prime Minister Hun Sen, the plaintiff in the two defamation and incitement cases that landed the analyst in detention. ...
Kim Sarom
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/court-denies-analyst-soks-request-bail
Kem Sokha promises political tolerance to Cham muslims
CNRP President Kem Sokha has promised opposition supporters among the Cham Muslim community that any government he leads would put an end to political harassment from the community’s pro-CPP leaders, whom he claimed pressured followers not to join his party. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/kem-sokha-promises-political-tolerance-to-cham-muslims-131604/
Complaint filed by small party leader against Kem Sokha
Cambodia Youth Party leader Pich Sros filed a complaint today at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha in response to the latter’s encouragement of voters not to “waste” their votes on small parties. ...
Niem Chheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/complaint-filed-small-party-leader-against-kem-sokha
Government spokesman admits to NGO scare
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak’s pre-election warning that some NGOs and their leaders were being watched for illegally aiding the opposition was a threat designed to frighten them, General Sopheak said on Wednesday, as civil society groups warily condemned the statements. ...
Aun Pheap and Ben Paviour
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-spokesman-admits-to-ngo-scare-131115/
Australian journalist arrested
Australian national James Ricketson was arrested on Saturday, according to police officials, with local media claiming the independent journalist was detained for “stealing information”. ...
Andrew Nachemson and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/australian-journalist-arrested
Whooping cough assurance
The Ministry of Health yesterday denied a local media report that children in Cambodia under one year old have a 50 percent chance of catching whooping cough. ...
Sen David
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/38756/whooping-cough-assurance/
U.S. Democracy promotion group holds political debate in Battambang
Local residents in Battambang town took part in a political debate organized by U.S. Democracy promotion group, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) on Monday ahead of local elections early next month. Attendees asked prospective candidates questions related to citizen’s concerns over unemployment, migration, ...
Sok Khemara
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/us-democracy-promotion-group-holds-political-debate-in-battambang/3867567.html
Cambodians unconcerned by threats of violence ahead of election
Political campaigning in Cambodia’s local elections began on Saturday and has so far passed without incident. Cambodians in Phnom Penh on Monday said they hoped that the election could be conducted fairly and free of violence. Sim To, a second-year student at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, ...
Kann Vicheika
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodians-unconcerned-by-threats-of-violence-ahead-of-election/3869453.html
CPP complains of CNRP march
The CPP has filed a complaint to a commune election committee in Takeo province alleging that a group of CNRP supporters obstructed a ruling party parade of about 400 supporters on Saturday, officials said yesterday. ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/second2/cpp-complains-cnrp-march-130163/
Hun sen scolds media during forum session
Prime Minister Hun Sen used a news conference at Thursday’s World Economic Forum on Asean in Phnom Penh to warn that two foreign-owned news outlets, including The Cambodia Daily, were “against” the government and that journalists who did not report “properly” would be seen as ...
Matt Surrusco
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-hijacks-forum-session-to-scold-media-129604/
Foreign Ministry hits back at critical report
The Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday released a strongly worded, albeit vague, rebuttal to a harsh report released by ASEAN parliamentarians on Monday, which chided the government for its legal onslaught against the opposition and alleged the “systematic dismantling [of] democracy” in the Kingdom. ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/foreign-ministry-hits-back-critical-report
Fears hover over plan to collect data on all Cambodians
Every Cambodian will be assigned a 10-digit identification number under which information from various government departments, as well as the private sector, will be collected in a central database, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced on Thursday. ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/fears-hover-over-plan-to-collect-data-on-all-cambodians-126693/
At capital coffee shops, political conversations tainted by fear
Many of the news media’s favorite political analysts aren’t picking up their telephones. They say they are busy with work, traveling abroad or focusing on their studies. ...
Ben Sokhean and Ben Paviour
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/126704-126704/
UN tells governments to defend people’s privacy
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy has denounced current world governments’ surveillance legislation, calling for respect for citizens’ rights to privacy. ...
Mark Tilly
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36323/un-tells-governments-to-defend-people---s-privacy/
Cambodia scores 157th in world for open data
Cambodia ranked 157th in the world and last in Southeast Asia, according to the report, released on Tuesday by NGO Open Data Watch, dropping four points since last year to a total score of 22 out of 100. ...
Hannah Hawkins
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-scores-157th-world-open-data-125977/
EU talks ‘election climate’
The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Frederica Mogherini, yesterday released a letter outlining Europe’s continued concern with what it perceives as a deteriorating political situation in Cambodia. ...
Cristina Maza
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/eu-talks-election-climate
Interior Ministry report boasts of crackdown on political protests
Besieged by color revolutionaries, agitators and criminal politicians, the Interior Ministry kept the country safe from encroaching instability—at least, that was the ministry’s boast on Wednesday at its annual meeting. ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/interior-ministry-report-boasts-of-crackdown-on-political-protests-125669/
US congressman urges CPP to drop party-busting bill
A U.S. congressman on Wednesday called on the CPP to abandon an imminent vote on legislation that would give the Cambodian government sweeping new powers to abolish its political rivals, the same day the U.S. ambassador met with CNRP acting President Kem Sokha to discuss ...
Ben Sokhean and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/us-congressman-urges-cpp-to-drop-party-busting-bill-125317/
A year after letter to Hun Sen, U.S. Senator says little sign of progress in Cambodia
The senators say they wrote as friends of Cambodia, who wish to see a strong relationship between the two countries but who are troubled by the increased social and political turmoil in Cambodia. ...
Release Kem Ley footage, sued commentator tells government
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. ...
Kuch Naren
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/release-kem-ley-footage-sued-commentator-tells-govt-125168/
Hun Sen slaps analyst with $500K lawsuit
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. ...
Kuch Naren and Khy Sovuthy
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-slaps-analyst-with-500k-lawsuit-125114/
Youth political expression hampered, opposition says
A number of young people were detained in 2016 for making social media posts deemed to be inciting violence. The opposition has said freedom of expression among its youth wing is limited compared to more seasoned activists. ...
Kann Vicheika
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/youth-political-expression-hampered-opposition-says/3714709.html
PM orders arrest of lying politicians
Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered authorities to arrest any politicians pledging to clear the debts of voters with micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and banks if their party wins the elections. ...
Taing Vida
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/35279/pm-orders-arrest-of-lying-politicians/