Civil and political rights

Amid accusations of bias in favour of the ruling party – and following the removal of the main opposition party from the electoral field – the National Election Committee has announced the creation of a new press reaction team to “attack back at negative points”. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces yesterday announced their intention to formally accuse former opposition leader Sam Rainsy of treason, after Rainsy urged soldiers and policemen not to shoot protesters. ...

In a speech to workers yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen pinned the blame for any damage inflicted on Cambodia’s garment industry by potential economic sanctions squarely on the opposition party. “You must remember clearly that if the purchase orders are reduced, it is all the ...

A group of local journalists have written an open letter calling for the release of former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who were arrested earlier this month. ...

The Ministry of Interior has said it will not allow any demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court during a hearing on Thursday to decide if the opposition CNRP will be dissolved, while the Koh Kong provincial governor’s office warned it will prevent residents from ...

Defence Minister Tea Banh expressed indifference to the threat of international sanctions being levied on government officials and the Cambodian economy on Saturday, while ordering his military to be ready to destroy any attempts at an alleged “colour revolution” or popular demonstration over the arrest ...

The shuttered Cambodia Daily announced late on Tuesday night that it has “relaunched” as a noncommercial publication. On its Facebook page, the Daily announced the re-opening as “a digital only, non-commercial publication based off shore”. Several items – including an aggregated news round-up and a “Timeline ...

Around six people were arrested outside the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh yesterday for attempting to stage a small protest, but were released later in the afternoon after agreeing to not demonstrate again without a City Hall permit. ...

The founder of the now-shuttered Cambodia Daily, Bernard Krisher, has told Prime Minister Hun Sen in a letter that he will travel to the Kingdom to take on any tax liabilities of his daughter, Deputy Publisher Deborah Krisher-Steele, stemming from the paper’s dispute with the ...

Opposition members in Kampong Chhnang say they have been banned from meeting since the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha on Sunday, with the provincial police chief yesterday saying he would “not allow” the party to “discuss politics”. ...

International condemnation of the government’s aggressive pursuit of a tax dispute with the Cambodia Daily continued to pour in yesterday, with the US Embassy in Phnom Penh calling the closure of the hard-hitting newspaper a “sad day for the press and for Cambodia”. ...

After 24 years of fiercely independent journalism, the Cambodia Daily will publish their final edition today due to an “exorbitant” $6.3 million tax bill levelled at them last month – an outcome critics say threatens Cambodia’s free press ahead of next year’s crucial national election. ...

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 Ministry of Information has closed down multiple radio stations that have been renting airtime to the opposition CNRP party and to two radio news organisations that have been under fire from the government. ...

The National Assembly’s permanent committee on Monday approved further study of amendments to Cambodia’s election law that would allow more than 1 million migrant workers to vote from outside the country’s borders. ...

The U.N.’s human rights envoy to Cambodia condemned the government’s recent violent rhetoric, court action against politicians and attacks against NGOs that have ramped up ahead of a key national election next year, arguing that the country appeared to be “approaching a precipice.” ...

Khmer Power Party head and former convicted “terrorist” Sourn Serey Ratha was arrested yesterday over a Facebook post criticising the deployment of troops to the Laos border by suggesting that grunts in the field would suffer while the military’s leaders hung back to enjoy “money” ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Australian national James Ricketson was arrested on Saturday, according to police officials, with local media claiming the independent journalist was detained for “stealing information”. ...

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. ...