HRW claims protesters in Cambodia have targets on backs

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH (AA) - What began six months ago as a scandal involving an opposition politician and his mistress has now snowballed into a much larger issue, engulfing civil society advocates, Cambodia’s election body and a land rights community.

Since a recording of Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader Kem Sokha and his mistress was leaked in February, seven people have been imprisoned ahead of trial and Sokha has been holed up at party headquarters for weeks.

His mistress had sought the assistance of local rights group Adhoc after the conversation became public, however, in May four staffers and an election official were charged with bribing the woman.

This week, two land rights activists who had protested the jailing of the five were themselves arrested and are now facing a summary trial to be held next week on charges of “direct incitement,” which were meted out Wednesday.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, Brad Adams, said in a statement that the case should be dropped because the charges are “baseless” and a sign that “one can’t protest the wrongful treatment of critics of the government without becoming the next target of government mistreatment.”

Since the jailing of the first five people, the government has sought to shut down activities related to so-called “Black Monday” protests held in support of their release.

The latest gathering Monday saw members of the Boeung Kak community -- who regularly protest in the capital to highlight different social justice issues -- hold a vigil to again call for the release of the five, as well as for a credible investigation into the July assassination of prominent government critic Kem Ley.

HRW said the summary nature of next week’s trial means the two women would be unable to prepare a proper defense.

The swiftness of the court’s ability to act in the space of a week stands in stark contrast to the sluggishness when it comes to investigating other serious cases in Cambodia; perhaps most notably, the failure to apprehend members of state forces responsible for the shooting deaths of seven civilians in three separate protests between September 2013 and January 2014.

Although a man was arrested in the wake of Ley’s murder, activists and rights groups have called for the assassination to be thoroughly examined by an independent body.

On Friday, Justice Ministry Spokesman Kim Santepheap referred questions from Anadolu Agency about the women’s case to Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Ly Sophana, who could not be reached.