Activists see freedom of expression on wane
Threats, intimidation and, in extreme cases, even murder were endangering freedom of expression in Cambodia and leaving human rights at the crossroads, activists and NGO representatives said during a round-table meeting yesterday. The slaying of environmental activist Chut Wutty, the arrest of Beehive radio director Mam Sonando on secessionist charges and the imprisonment of the “Boeung Kak 13” were among the worst examples of a system becoming increasingly intolerant of those questioning it, participants at the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights hosted forum said. … According to analysis provided by the forum’s organisers, 15 human rights activists, land activists, politicians and policy reformers have been killed in suspicious circumstances since 1990, and 1,440 have been charged with a crime. …
