PHNOM PENH, February 10, 2014 (AFP) - Dozens of protesters called Monday for the release of Cambodian activists arrested during a bloody crackdown last month, as a prison official said several of the detainees were on hunger strike.
The brief rally was held outside the Ministry of Justice and the Appeals Court to demand freedom for 23 activists and workers held during a crackdown on striking garment workers in early January, which left at least four civilians dead.
Two of the detainees, who are being held at a prison near the border with Vietnam, were released on bail over the weekend.
A further 16 began a hunger strike on Sunday morning to demand their release, Kea Sovanna, the director of Correctional Center 3, told AFP by telephone.
"Now nine detainees still continue their hunger strike," he said, adding officials were trying to encourage them to eat.
The Appeals Court is set to hear bail requests for the remaining detainees on Tuesday.
In an open letter to strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen, a dozen international rights organisations on Monday urged authorities to release the detainees.
"The Cambodian government's detention of activists and ban on protests are generating intense public concern not just in Cambodia, but around the world," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in the joint statement.
Authorities have used force to quell recent street protests against Hun Sen and his government, at times using smoke grenades and electric batons to disperse demonstrators in the capital.
The government says the rallies were illegal. It has indefinitely banned demonstrations in the capital by the opposition, which accuses Hun Sen of vote-rigging in a national election last year.
Hun Sen faces mounting criticism by rights groups over his government's suppression of street protests intended to challenge his nearly three-decade rule.
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