News

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) strongly urges the Court of Appeal to drop all charges against Mam Sonando on 14 March 2013. The case against him is paper-thin, a point acknowledged by the prosecutor when he requested that the two most serious charges against Mam Sonando be dropped at the Appeal hearing on 06 March 2013. The prosecutor then introduced a new charge related to land grabbing – a supreme irony given Mam Sonando’s work to educate people about their land rights – that does not fit the facts from the original incident.

On International Women’s Day, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) urges to the Royal Government of Cambodia to ensure the implementation of relevant legislation in place to protect the rights of women and children, in order to tackle impunity, and particularly: to pay more attention to ways in which abuses against women and children can be prevented.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, welcome the decision by the Cambodian Court of Appeal today to reopen criminal charges against former Bavet City Governor, Chhouk Bandith. However, we are concerned that the investigation will take place under the jurisdiction of Svay Rieng Provincial Court, which has proven once before that it may be susceptible to political pressure exerted by Mr. Bandith and his supporters. Given the evidence, we welcome the prospect of new investigation. This process should be transparent and offer guarantees of independence and rights of the defense if it is to provide justice for the victims and demonstrate that the rich and powerful cannot act with impunity when accused of grave crimes.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court confirmed yesterday the verdict pronounced against French reporter Daniel Lainé in 2010 and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment for sex trafficking. However, it is widely believed that Mr. Lainé, who is currently in France, has been targeted for his investigative work into sex tourism and sex trafficking in Cambodia. The trial, which took place on 10 January and which the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) monitored, only served to demonstrate the absence of credible evidence against Mr. Lainé. He may have been a victim of judicial persecution for informing the public about sex trafficking and painting a “bad” image of Cambodia.

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) wishes to strongly condemn the deforestation and illegal logging of timber by two Vietnamese Companies, Dai Dongguan and Seventy Two, that have received Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) in Porknhai commune, O’yadaw district, Ratanakiri province. ADHOC is also concerned at the intimidation of the Lom village indigenous community, which has been threatened that if they do not change from collective land ownership to individual land ownership, they would have to pay approximately $700-$800 to the local authorities as a ‘fine.’ The rights of Cambodia’s indigenous communities must be respected and its forest preserved, and ADHOC calls on the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to intervene and solve this land conflict and the many others affecting Cambodia’s indigenous communities.

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) expresses its utmost disappointment at the decision of Svay Rieng Provincial Court to drop all charges against former Bavet City Governor Chhuk Bundith, who was accused of firing his gun at three female factory workers at Svay Rieng Special Economic Zone. It took Prosecutor Hing Bunchea almost ten months to decide that, despite Chhuk Bundith’s own confession and confirmation by numerous witnesses that he was the gunman, Chhuk Bundith was not even to be tried for causing “unintentional injuries”—let alone attempted murder.

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) wishes to express its disappointment at the decision made today by the Court of Appeal not to release Mam Sonando – the owner of independent Beehive Radio and president of the Democrats Association – on bail. Mam Sonando was arrested in July and sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges that were widely perceived to be politically motivated. His detention has sparked international outrage and has been condemned at the highest levels. The reasons given for the denial of Mam Sonando’s bail were completely unfounded.

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) urges the Court of Appeal to grant a bail request made by the lawyer of Mam Sonando at a hearing scheduled for Friday 14 December 2012. Mam Sonando – the owner of independent Beehive Radio and head of the Democrats Association – was arrested in July and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on 1 October 2012, on charges that were widely perceived to be politically motivated. ADHOC has been monitoring this case closely and welcomes the news that a bail hearing has been scheduled. Nevertheless, though Mam Sonando’s release on bail would be a positive move by the Appeal Court, his conviction should be overturned as soon as possible given the apparent political interference in his case.