Statement: CHRAC Demands Investigation into Violent Crackdown Against SL-Garment Factory Workers.

Phnom Penh, 12 November 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) – a coalition of 21 NGOs working in the field of the promotion Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in the Kingdom of Cambodia– deplores the excessive use of force by the authorities this morning at a demonstration by workers from the Singaporean owned SL-Garment factory – which makes clothes for clothing giants Gap and H&M. Tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds were fired to disperse the workers, after demonstrators and police threw rocks at each other in Stung Meanchey District, Phnom Penh. Mrs. Em Sokorm, 49, a local rice vendor was shot dead around 9:30am. Numerous others were injured and early reports to the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) suggest that at least 27 people have been arrested, including monks and youths living at the Stung Meanchey Pagoda.

Statement: CHRAC Demands Investigation into Violent Crackdown Against SL-Garment Factory Workers. Read More

Boeung Kak Lake Protesters Demonstrate Outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s House

At 8 am on the morning of April 22, 2013, around 80 former Boeung Kak Lake residents staged a protest in front of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) headquarters in Phnom Penh. They were requesting that the party president, H.E. Chea Sim, help them solve their longstanding land conflict with Shukaku Inc., a politically connected company that has begun work on a multi-million dollar development where their homes once stood. The former residents have been given inadequate compensation and have been repeatedly harassed and intimidated by the authorities. They were also demanding the release of Yorm Bopha, a former Boeung Kak resident and prominent activist jailed in December 2012 on charges widely perceived as baseless. There is very thin evidence connecting her with the crime she is purported to have committed and her sentence is likely related to her advocacy work.

Boeung Kak Lake Protesters Demonstrate Outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s House Read More

REPORT: A Turning Point? Land, Housing and Natural Resources Rights in Cambodia in 2012

Whereas 2011 had seen a sharp increase in the number of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) granted by the Royal Government of Cambodia to private companies, in 2012 conflicts became more acute and protests multiplied. The government showed that it had understood the seriousness of the situation by taking initiatives aimed at resolving land disputes, addressing some of the issues related to ELCs and granting thousands of land titles to rural families.

However, some of the most pressing concerns about the overall pressure on land, landlessness, land tenure insecurity, lack of law enforcement, power abuses, and encroachment on livelihoods and natural resources remained unaddressed. […]

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Remembering Dey Krahorm: Three Years after their Forced Eviction, Former Residents Petition the National Assembly to Make Cambodia an Eviction and Land-Grab Free Zone

On 08th October 2012, past residents of the Dey Krahorm community in central Phnom Penh gathered at the site of their former homes to petition the National Assembly to put an end to pervasive land-grabbing and forced evictions across Cambodia. The residents of Dey Krahorm were forcibly evicted and the community razed on 29 January 2009, when armed police, military police and demolition workers came at night to tear down houses and move people off their land. In many cases residents did not have time to move their possessions outside of their houses before they were pulled down by the demolition teams.

Remembering Dey Krahorm: Three Years after their Forced Eviction, Former Residents Petition the National Assembly to Make Cambodia an Eviction and Land-Grab Free Zone Read More

Two Persons Accused of Killing Hang Serei Odom Detained in Rattanakiri Province

On Saturday, 15th September 2012, the Rattanakiri province police detained two suspects—one is a military police officer named Ean Bunheng, alias Eng, and the other is his spouse, Sim Vy—at the provincial police headquarters. They have not been sent to the Prosecutor’s office at Rattanakiri Provincial Court yet. What is more, the provincial police prolonged their detention (by 24 hours) in order to conduct more investigation. The victim’s family, the journalists’ community, as well as human rights NGOs, are closely monitoring the handling of the case by the authorities and express grave concerns about this killing.

Two Persons Accused of Killing Hang Serei Odom Detained in Rattanakiri Province Read More

Killing of a Journalist in Rattanakiri Province

On 11 September 2012, ADHOC’s office in Rattanakiri province received reliable information from Mr. Joun Phin Dara according to which a reporter working with the local newspaper Virakchun Khmer, Mr. Hang Serei Oddom, had disappeared.
ADHOC staff immediately started investigating and sought intervention with Mr. Em Vunn, head of Banlung police, to find out about the reporter’s whereabouts. At 12pm, the authorities located Hang Serei Oddom’s car at Savay Channty garden, Touy village, Ja Ong commune, Orchum district, about 3 kilometers away from town. Hang Serei Oddom was found dead in the trunk.

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Mam Sonando’s Trial Began Yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court

The trial of Mam Sonando, President of the Democrats Association and owner of Beehive radio station (FM 105), began yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Mam Sonando faces charges related to a so-called “secessionist plot” in Kratie province, including insurrection and incitement, which could carry a sentence of up to 30 years imprisonment. Mam Sonando, who is 71, voluntarily returned to Cambodia to defend himself. He has been seriously ill while in pre-trial detention and was denied bail on two occasions.

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STATEMENT: Mam Sonando Must Be Released and the Rights of All Journalists and Human Rights Defenders Upheld

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) is deeply concerned about the arrest of Beehive radio owner Mam Sonando yesterday at his Phnom Penh home. According to the information received, Mr. Mam faces charges of insurrection and incitement, offenses punishable by up to 20 years in prison (Penal Code, articles 28, 456, 457, 464, 504 and 609). His arrest follows a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen in which he alleged that Mr. Mam was directly responsible for a secession attempt in Kratie province’s Chhlong district. ADHOC is afraid these charges may be an excuse for silencing a prominent journalist and advocate of democratic rights, and calls on the authorities to immediately release him.

STATEMENT: Mam Sonando Must Be Released and the Rights of All Journalists and Human Rights Defenders Upheld Read More

STATEMENT: ADHOC Condemns the Unfair Conviction of 13 Boeung Kak Residents

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) condemns the conviction of 13 women embroiled in a land dispute with CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin’s Shukaku Inc. The Boeung Kak residents were sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail yesterday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on charges of rebellion (article 504 of the Penal Code) and illegal occupation of land (article 34 of the Land Law). Five of them had their sentences suspended to two years, and another to one year. All were sent to Prey Sar prison immediately after sentencing. The women were arrested on 23 May as they were peacefully protesting against the destruction of their homes by Shukaku Inc. and attempting to rebuild them.

STATEMENT: ADHOC Condemns the Unfair Conviction of 13 Boeung Kak Residents Read More