News

The Mines and Energy Ministry on Friday defended sand exports reported last week by an environmental NGO, saying Cambodia’s sand ban did not include the type seen in a video being loaded onto vessels off the coast of Sihanoukville. ... ...

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a $25,000 fine for three environmental activists who fled the country after being convicted of threatening to destroy a sand dredging barge in Koh Kong province in 2015. They are now debating returning home, however, after the court ...

In a joint statement, 48 civil society organizations have urged the Appeal Court to overturn a ruling by the Koh Kong Provincial Court in a case against three Mother Nature activists. The statement says the three activists are not criminals,but brave environmental protectors who had contributed ...

The government created a national commission last week to prevent and crack down on crimes involving natural resources. National Military Police Commander Sao Sokha will head the commission and Hou Sakun, the deputy commissioner general of the National Police, will be second in command. Environment Ministry and ...

The National Assembly’s anti-corruption commission has asked Suy Sem, the minister of mines and energy, to appear for questioning on December 15, as villagers in Koh Kong province cast doubt on government claims that it had temporarily banned sand mining there. Mr. Sem will answer questions ...

Civil society organizations and youth groups have called for young people to be more involved in human rights and the environment. They also demanded greater protection for young activists who have suffered threats, violence and court action. The call was made in a youth forum on young ...

Environmental campaigner and Areng Valley community leader Ven Vorn lost his appeal against his one-year suspended sentence for “collecting forest products without permission” yesterday at the Appeals Court. Judge Kim Danny did not give reasons why the court decided to uphold the March ruling of the ...

Activists from environmental group Mother Nature yesterday cautioned that a proposed road pledged by Prime Minister Hun Sen for the Areng Valley could cause an increase in illegal logging and drug abuse. ... ...

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 ...

Security forces on Thursday blocked two mothers and a wife of jailed activists from the environmental group Mother Nature from walking to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house to protest their family members’ imprisonment, before a representative of the premier’s cabinet chastised them for using the ...

Environmental activists and community members in Koh Kong province were yesterday detained by guards from a sand dredging company while documenting the firm’s activities. ... ...

International rights groups issued an “urgent appeal” this week for the release of three environmental activists in Koh Kong province imprisoned in August over their anti-sand dredging activities. ... ...

A team of security officials led by a commune chief descended on a private home in rural Koh Kong province on Friday morning to prevent a group of students and ac­tivists from holding a democracy training session, an activist and officials said. ... ...

The Appeal Court yesterday denied bail to three environmental activists arrested in mid-August over their opposition to sand dredging in Koh Kong province. ... ...

A prominent activist in Koh Kong province who has opposed the construction of the Stung Cheay Areng dam has been summonsed to court for alleged “forest crimes”. ... ...

The provincial government in Koh Kong says authorities were within their rights to detain more than a dozen people and break up a demonstration over the arrest of three environmental activists. ... ...

A deputy police chief of Koh Kong province on Thursday defended the decision by authorities to arrest four human rights workers and 13 other people during a peaceful protest on Wednesday and said they were prepared to do so again—and next time would not let ...

Police in Koh Kong province on Wednesday late evening set free 17 people, including for local rights workers who were arrested over a protest in the province. ... ...

Police in Koh Kong province on Wednesday arrested 17 people—including four rights workers—near the provincial courthouse as protesters continued to call for the release of three jailed environmental activists, according to officials. The group was released shortly after 6 p.m. ... ...

Seventeen members of a Cambodian rights group and environmental NGO were briefly detained by authorities in Cambodia’s southeastern Koh Kong province Wednesday as they observed protests calling for the release of three activists held for interfering with sand-dredging operations, sources said. ... ...

Khemara Phoumint City deputy governor Pen Bunchhouy on Tuesday issued a letter to a group of protesters demanding that they vacate the area in front of the Koh Kong Provincial Court by Wednesday, threatening “action” if they refused. ... ...

A group of protesters demanding the release of three jailed environmental activists in Koh Kong province clashed with authorities on Tuesday, as they attempted to file a petition to the residence of the provincial governor. ... ...

Military police attempted to arrest a group of protesters as they marched through Koh Kong province’s Khemara Phoumint City Thursday to demand the release of three jailed activists from environmental NGO Mother Nature, a rights worker and an official said. ... ...

When Sam Samnang’s son decided to join the ranks of environmental NGO Mother Nature, she knew he was in for trouble. ... ...