Rights group Licadho said that as of mid-July around 60 activists were being held in Cambodian prisons
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Human rights workers in Cambodia face "an increasingly hostile environment" as authorities use violence, intimidation and "trumped-up" criminal charges to silence them, activists warned Thursday.
Rights group Licadho said that as of mid-July around 60 activists were being held in Cambodian prisons on a range of charges.
"Cambodian human rights defenders have faced an increasingly hostile environment over the past two years, enduring physical violence, illegal arrests, trumped-up criminal charges," the group said in a statement.
In a new report, "Attacks and Threats Against Human Rights Defenders in Cambodia", it said courts were being used to obstruct human rights workers' lawful activities while defamation and disinformation laws were restricting freedom of expression.
In a separate statement, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) said that rights groups faced "shrinking space" in Cambodia.
"Time and again we see the same pattern -- those who dare to speak out against injustice are arrested, imprisoned and intimidated," said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.
"The message to human rights defenders is clear: Be quiet, or the government will forcibly silence you," he added.
The groups' warning came just a few days after Licadho staff member Leang Sokchouen was jailed for two years for disinformation after he allegedly distributed anti-government leaflets.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, FIDH and OMCT condemned the conviction in joint statement released late Wednesday and called for his immediate release.
"Unfounded charges of disinformation or defamation are well-worn tactics used by the Cambodian government to create a climate of fear," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
Rights group Licadho said that as of mid-July around 60 activists were being held in Cambodian prisons on a range of charges.
"Cambodian human rights defenders have faced an increasingly hostile environment over the past two years, enduring physical violence, illegal arrests, trumped-up criminal charges," the group said in a statement.
In a new report, "Attacks and Threats Against Human Rights Defenders in Cambodia", it said courts were being used to obstruct human rights workers' lawful activities while defamation and disinformation laws were restricting freedom of expression.
In a separate statement, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) said that rights groups faced "shrinking space" in Cambodia.
"Time and again we see the same pattern -- those who dare to speak out against injustice are arrested, imprisoned and intimidated," said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.
"The message to human rights defenders is clear: Be quiet, or the government will forcibly silence you," he added.
The groups' warning came just a few days after Licadho staff member Leang Sokchouen was jailed for two years for disinformation after he allegedly distributed anti-government leaflets.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, FIDH and OMCT condemned the conviction in joint statement released late Wednesday and called for his immediate release.
"Unfounded charges of disinformation or defamation are well-worn tactics used by the Cambodian government to create a climate of fear," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
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