Civil and political rights

Seven activists arrested in Phnom Penh on Monday morning for attempting to demonstrate against the recent arrests of four human rights workers and an election official were released by nightfall, a familiar conclusion to the latest “Black Monday” demonstration. ...

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the fractious political situation in Cambodia on Sunday, in a two-sentence statement issued through his press office that rights activists on Monday blasted for its timidity and brevity.   ...

Familiar scenes of police ripping banners during heated scuffles with protesters marked the fourth “Black Monday,” as activists continued to call for the release of human rights workers who have been in Prey Sar prison for almost one month.   ...

The United Nations on Sunday voiced alarm at the escalating political tensions in Cambodia, including attempted arrests of politicians, amid allegations from the opposition that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party is persecuting it. ...

A group of pro-government and independent unions have condemned an announcement by Free Trade Union (FTU) president Chea Mony, who last week told the press that members of his union and others would hold mass strikes and protests if acting president of the Cambodia National ...

Political intimidation, the suppression of political expression and restrictions on freedom of assembly have Cambodia’s young democracy under threat, observers in the country say. ...

Amnesty International has designated four human rights officers and an election official who were jailed earlier this month as “prisoners of conscience” and will call on millions of members around the world to petition the government for their release.   ...

An opposition official in Kampot was arrested yesterday evening over his involvement in collecting thumbprints for a Royal petition calling for the release of detained human rights officials and politicians in the Kingdom. ...

Police who shut down a gathering of 30 people in a private home in Prey Veng province yesterday justified the action by saying the organisers had failed to notify the district governor in writing beforehand. ...

Security forces including riot police were deployed to Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila neighborhood on Tuesday to keep a watchful eye over activists in the area, as rights groups, undeterred by arrests of eight protesters on “Black Monday,” began planning next week’s demonstration.   ...

Eight human rights officers and activists clad in black were arrested on Monday during “Black Monday” protests in Phnom Penh, the first in a campaign to free four fellow rights workers and an election official who were jailed late last month on charges widely believed ...

As protesters were being arrested during peaceful demonstrations in Phnom Penh on Monday morning, the new chairman of the government’s human rights committee held a press conference to reassure the public that the country’s human rights situation was stable.   ...

The government on Sunday warned of a crackdown on activists and advocacy groups set to protest today against the recent arrests of four rights workers and an election official, calling the planned demonstration an act of “urban rebellion.” ...

Activists organizing a protest march to the Phnom Penh headquarters of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) say they will continue with their plans despite City Hall’s decision on Thursday to reject their request.   ...

Sisowath Chakreynupol, a prince from one of Cambodia’s royal families, has taken over the reins of the Cambodian Liberty Party, a recently started micro-party. ...

Foreign diplomatic missions in Phnom Penh say they are closely watching the handling of the cases of human rights monitors and a national election official charged and jailed on Monday in connection with a sex scandal being prosecuted against an opposition leader.    ...

The information minister announced yesterday that the government is one step closer to establishing an access to information law, in response to demands for a more transparent and responsive government. ...

A day after the ruling party filed a defamation complaint against one of the country’s most prominent political commentators, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday defended limitations on freedom of speech as being necessary for peace and stability. ...

 Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for legal action against those who “twist” the truth to malign the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, taking aim at the nation’s political analysts and commentators, with one of its most prominent, Ou Virak, the first in the crosshairs.  ...

Cambodia ranked 128th in Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2015 ranking of press freedom in countries across the world, the watchdog said yesterday on its website. ...

Soeung Hai, a dissident former monk wanted for arrest by the government, said on Tuesday that he had been living in Sweden since February after the U.N.’s refugee agency helped him secure political asylum there. ...

As the opposition marked the 41st anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, one of its senior officials yesterday lashed out at the imprisonment of a CNRP lawmaker for criticising the government’s handling of the Vietnamese border issue. ...

Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, the outspoken director of the environmental group Mother Nature, has written to the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders to request that he pressure the government to release three Mother Nature activists imprisoned on charges stemming from an anti-sand ...

The U.S. State Department’s annual Human Rights Report, released on Wednesday, highlights poor treatment of Cambodia’s political opposition in 2015, and raises concerns about the judiciary’s “broad interpretation” of the crime of incitement.   ...