CCHR and CLC Letter to H.E. Sar Kheng Regarding Refusal to visit Mr.Vorn Pao and seven others detainees arrested on 2 January 2014

Dear all, 

Please see below and attached, a letter from the Cambodian Center for Human Rights ("CCHR") and from the Cambodian Labour Confederation ("CLC") to His Excellency Sar Kheng,Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Ministry of Interior, expressing our grave concern over the refusal made by the General Department of Prison of the Ministry of Interior on 24 January 2014 regarding our request to visit Mr. Vorn Pao and seven other detainees arrested during the demonstration on 2 January 2014. 

For more information, please contact CLC President Mr. Ath Thorn via telephone at +855 (0) 1299 8906 or e-mail at thorn.clc@gmail.com or CCHR Human Rights Defender Project Coordinator Ms. Chhay Chhunly via telephone at +855 (0) 17 528 021 or e-mail at chhunly.chhay@cchrcambodia.org 

Kind regards,

CCHR

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To: His Excellency Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Ministry of Interior

Subject: Refusal to visit Mr.Vorn Pao and seven others detainees arrested on 2 January 2014.

Your Excellency,

We, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and the Cambodian Labour Organization would like to express our grave concern over the refusal made by the General Department of Prison of the Ministry of Interior on 24 January 2014 regarding our request to visit Mr. Vorn Pao and seven other detainees arrested during the demonstration on 2 January 2014. They were arrested by Military Special Command Unit 911 while peacefully demonstrating demanding an increase of the minimum wage to 160$ in front of the Yak Jin Factory. Following their arrest they were put under provisional detention at Correctional Center 3 in Trapaing Phlong commune, Kampong Cham province by the investigating judge.

The purpose of our request is to visit, Mr Vorn Pao and the seven other detainees, as partners and friends working to promote and protect human right and democracy in the Kingdom of Cambodia. We have no intention to obstruct or interfere with the investigation process. In addition, the investigating judge has not identified our organizations or any of our members as individuals who should be prevented from visiting the detainees; therefore the General Department of Prison should grant us a permit to visit our friends and colleagues.  

We would like to remind you that only the investigating judge prohibits visits to specific detainees in order to guarantee the good conduct of the investigation, as such, the General Department of Prison’s refusal has no legal foundation.

As above-mentioned, we would like to require H.E. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Ministry of Interior who has the General Department of Prison as secretariat, to consider our request accordingly.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Ath Thorn

President of Cambodian Labour Confederation                 

Ms. Chhay Chhunly

Cambodian Center for Human Rights

Human Rights Defenders Project Coordinator