Law and judiciary

Since the widely condemned arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha on “treason” charges this month, at least a dozen Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmakers have left the country, though a senior party official yesterday insisted they would “return soon”. ...

Cambodian authorities last week arrested an alleged drug mule attempting to smuggle cocaine into the Kingdom by hiding it in his stomach. 
South African national Blignaut Chan, 26, was seized on September 13 at Phnom Penh International Airport in a joint operation between the National ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha’s lawyers have said that they are under surveillance during meetings with their client in Tbong Khmum’s Trapaing Thlong prison, which they yesterday called a violation of their rights ensuring client-attorney conversations are confidential. ...

Two Mother Nature activists arrested after filming suspected sand-bearing vessels have been charged with incitement and making unauthorised recordings of a person in “a private place” – an offence that drew skepticism yesterday, given they were in their own boat in the open ocean when ...

Disgraced former Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Heng Pov yesterday called for a speedy appeal trial before the Supreme Court in two of his cases – which relate to the possession of fake currency and to the illegal detention of a suspect – despite lamenting ...

Cambodian politics reached a new boiling point with the arrest of the opposition leader last week. Kem Sokha was handcuffed in the middle of the night in his house and accused of “treason” by the government. ...

Material apparently aimed at incriminating jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha continued to flow in over the weekend, with pro-government leaker “Seiha” releasing another video of Sokha expressing his gratitude to the US government for its assistance in building democracy in Cambodia. ...

Cambodia Youth Party leader Pich Sros filed a lawsuit on Friday against activist monk But Buntenh and Pa Nguon Teang, founder of the Cambodian Centre for Independent Media, accusing the pair of embezzling money from the late Kem Ley’s funeral fund. ...

The Tax Department yesterday escalated its attack on the Cambodia Daily by filing a legal complaint accusing its founder and two directors of obstructing the tax process and tax evasion, which could see them face up to six years in prison. ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha was officially charged with treason yesterday, about 36 hours after he was arrested at his Phnom Penh residence and sent to a Tbong Khmum prison. If Sokha is found guilty, his party could be dissolved based on new legislation that prevents ...

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a bail application for Poipet Commune Chief Chao Veasna, who has been in pretrial detention since February for his alleged role in a protest that turned violent outside the border town’s customs office in 2015. ...

Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha was officially charged with treason this morning, about 36 hours after he was arrested from his Phnom Penh residence in a midnight raid by more than 100 police and sent to a Tbong Khmum prison. ...

Police yesterday arrested Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha over allegations of treason, with Prime Minister Hun Sen accusing the opposition president of conspiring with the United States to oust his regime. In a startling escalation in an already deteriorating political climate, the premier ...

Phnom Penh Governor Khoung Sreng has asked owners of container trucks, cement trucks and other heavily loaded vehicles to cease use of three main roads in the capital in a bid to ease congestion. ...

The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation into the opposition CNRP’s funding sources after the government-aligned Fresh News website posted a leaked document purporting to show that the party received funds from a foreign organisation. ...

The Interior Ministry has filed a Supreme Court complaint requesting the dissolution of nine political parties accused of flouting their obligations under the Law on Political Parties. ...

The government is to give the Bar Association a 50 percent boost in the legal aid budget by 2018 to pay lawyers who defend the poor for free. ...

The Cambodia Daily yesterday said it was under “siege” and continued to call the government’s targeting of the newspaper an attack on press freedom, as five radio station owners that had been ordered to shut stop attempted to resume their services. // //   ...

The National Commercial Arbitration Center (NCAC) has settled its first two cases, marking the first time in Cambodia for commercial disputes to be resolved using an independent arbitration panel instead of the country’s court system. ...

A cabinet meeting on Friday amended several articles of the fisheries law to limit the use of narrow fishing nets and introduce licences for some mechanised equipment. ...

Out of 600 prisoners at Kampong Thom prison 18 may have their sentences reduced by six to 12 months for the upcoming Water Festival in November. ...

President of the department for traffic police Ron Rath Veasna met with private bus companies yesterday to discuss a report indicating that the number of traffic accidents caused by private buses has increased. ...

The Senate amended its internal rules yesterday to punish senators who miss sessions by docking their salaries, while also voting down a measure to appoint the wife of Hong Sok Hour to fill his former seat on the body’s anti-corruption committee. ...

Owners of all cars for sale around Freedom Park and Chas market have seven days to move them out of the area or face removal of their vehicles by the Daun Penh authority. ...