Civil and political rights

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Unless there are fundamental changes to the dynamics of politics in Cambodia—with the government suppressing dissent and the opposition often relying on racially charged attacks—disenchantment following next year’s election is likely to lead to violence, a think tank warned in a political analysis released on ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on all media institutions in the country to disseminate accurate news and avoid immoral acts and commentary that could sway public opinion or that of the judiciary. ...

Cambodia fell four spots in a 2016 ranking of internet freedom across the world released yesterday, with the organization behind it tying the drop to a spate of arrests for nothing more than Facebook posts and a much-maligned telecommunications law that critics say gives the ...

Pen Sovann, Cambodia’s first prime minister after the Vietnamese invasion in January 1979 that swept the Khmer Rouge from power and a serving opposition member of parliament, passed away at his home in Takeo province’s Duan Keo town on Saturday evening aged 80. ...

The UN’s special rapporteur for human rights yesterday told Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn that Cambodia is the top ranking country in terms of freedom of expression in the Asean region, but must improve in other areas of human rights which have been raised by the ...

Rhona Smith, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, who is on a three-day trip to the Kingdom, yesterday voiced her concern about overcrowding in prisons caused by an increase in temporary detentions before trials. Ms. Smith, on her third visit to Cambodia, raised ...

Cambodia’s ambassador to the United Nations pulled no punches in his response to a joint statement from almost 40 countries condemning the government’s recent actions and threats against peaceful protests, implying in his own letter that the opposition party was participating in “unlawful and anarchic ...

In a joint statement released yesterday, 38 nations came together to express their concern about the political situation in Cambodia and demanded the government ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders and civil society groups. The statement, delivered by United States Ambassador to the UN ...

Civil society organizations yesterday repeated calls for land disputes to be resolved quickly, peacefully and without authorities using police and the courts to put pressure on communities. Speaking at an event celebrating poor urban communities at the American Intercon School yesterday, more than 200 people, including ...

Opposition leaders on Sunday called on supporters to consider mass demonstrations after the conviction on Friday of CNRP Vice President Kem Sokha, while a government spokesman warned that those who attempted to heed the call to action would pay a “very high price.” ...

With rebuke raining down on the ruling CPP for its judicial assault, arrests and intimidation of the political opposition and other critics, Cambodia’s annual assessment by the U.N. Human Rights Council will be held next week in Geneva. ...

The international community should put “maximum pressure” on the Cambodian government to improve the country’s human rights situation, including possible sanctions on top officials, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans said on Friday.   ...

An annual reporting requirement under the contentious Law on Associations and NGOs, or LANGO, is being intentionally misinterpreted by local police, according to a group of NGOs in Oddar Meanchey province. ...

UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith has responded to growing concerns among the human rights community that she is not fulfilling her mandate. ...

Cambodian police say they are investigating the declaration of a coup against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but have laughed off any suggestion of the threat being serious.   ...

A visiting U.S. human rights envoy on Tuesday urged the government to release and drop charges against five current and former rights workers arrested in April amid what he called a deteriorating political situation in which the courts have disproportionately targeted state critics. ...

International media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement released on Tuesday that it was concerned by what it characterized as a “surge” in threats against journalists and news organizations in Cambodia in recent weeks.   ...

Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin sang the praises of UN Special Rapporteur Rhona Smith on Saturday, following a report in the Post on Friday that she had lost the confidence of many in the human rights community.   ...

The opposition plans to attend the National Assembly’s Standing Committee meeting today to debate the lifting of immunity for two of its lawmakers.   ...

Concerns are mounting among the human rights community, particularly in the wake of political analyst Kem Ley’s murder, that UN Special Rapporteur to Cambodia Rhona Smith is failing to fulfil her mandate in a time of what one observer termed “fear and confusion”. ...

A reporter in Mondulkiri province who climbed a mango tree to look into a police official’s compound for a rumored stash of illegal timber over the weekend says he was later detained and threatened with a beating. ...