Death Threat Made Against CNRP’s Social Media Activist
Thy Sovantha is accustomed to being threatened on Facebook. But the 19-year-old CNRP youth activist, who became something of an online celebrity through the popular opposition Facebook page “I Love Cambodia Hot News,” says the latest threat against her, in which a copy of her passport application was published online along with warnings of an acid attack, is different. Ms. Sovantha alleged Wednesday that the Ministry of Interior’s passport office, which is staffed by immigration police, leaked her passport application documents, containing the names of Ms. Sovantha’s relatives, her home address and personal phone numbers. … Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, questioned whether staff at the passport officer were responsible for disseminating the application form of the CNRP activist. “I can say that [maybe] Thy Sovantha’s document is not only in the passport department, maybe she put it somewhere else and people take it to post on Facebook,” he said. Even if Ms. Sovantha files a complaint, it is unlikely that the ministry will be able to do anything, Lt. Gen. Sopheak continued. … In November, Cheth Sovichet, 23, a marketing manager for mobile operator Cellcard, was briefly detained in Stung Treng province after he posted a photograph of the provincial military police commander to his Facebook page along with comments claiming that the officer was a foul-mouthed extortionist. Mr. Sovichet was released without charge by the provincial court after promising to remove and publicly apologize for the Facebook comments. In February, police in Phnom Penh also summoned for questioning a schoolteacher who they accused of defaming officers in a post on Facebook that suggested police were out to extort money when they confiscated his motorcycle. The teacher apologized for the post, and was not charged. …
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/death-threat-made-against-cnrps-social-media-activist-51124/
