Sep 22, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Southeast Asian parliamentarians have condemned the recent trial of dozens of members of the political opposition in Cambodia as a sham, and called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to take strong action to halt Prime Minister Hun Sen’s relentless assault on human rights and democracy.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) also called for all charges against the political opposition in the country to be dropped, and for all those currently detained to be released unconditionally.
Last week, Cambodia’s government started its latest mass trial targeting mainly members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), with 37 defendants summoned to a Phnom Penh court for the hearing. According to media reports, only three defendants were physically present, with the rest either in hiding or in exile.
“No-one should be fooled by Hun Sen’s latest charade that the courts in Cambodia stand for anything other than a weapon in his unrelenting campaign to snuff out the country’s political opposition. Instead of using the courts to silence critical voices, Hun Sen should drop all charges against the political opposition and create a space for genuine opposition parties to run in a general election next year that is free and fair,” said Kasit Piromya, former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs and APHR Board Member.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit treason and could face prison sentences of between five and 10 years. The allegations are related to a failed attempt by former CNRP Vice-President and current APHR Board Member, Mu Sochua, to return to Cambodia from self-exile in January 2021 to face charges in a separate politically-motivated trial. Mu Sochua, who has already been sentenced to 36 years, is among the figures summoned for the latest round of charges. She has made it clear she plans to return to Cambodia to face the charges against her, but has been prevented from entering the country.
Among those also facing charges is Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American human rights defender who is currently being detained in Preah Vihear Prison, in northern Cambodia. In a recent report, the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch Initiative and the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights described the trial against her as “a travesty of justice” and gave the trial’s procedure an “F” grade, meaning a trial “entailed a gross violation of international standards that affected the outcome and/or resulted in significant harm.”
The report also detailed “due process violations” committed against Theary, including her right to be informed of the charges against her, her right to counsel and adequate facilities to prepare a defense, her presumption of innocence, her right to be tried before and independent and impartial tribunal, and her post-conviction right to counsel.
The situation related to human rights and democracy has drastically deteriorated in Cambodia in recent years, notably since Hun Sen used the country’s courts to dissolve the CNRP in 2017, shortly after it had run his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) close in successive nationwide elections.
As a result of the dissolution, the CPP now holds all 125 seats in the National Assembly, which it has used to push through increasingly repressive laws, as well as proposed changes to the constitution that would pave the way for Hun Sen to transfer power to his son.
“Hun Sen is clearly of the view that he can continue abusing his power with absolute impunity, and the international community, including ASEAN, should send a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated – at the very least they must not legitimise any elections that take place under the current conditions. The deeper Hun Sen entrenches his rule, the harder it will be to return the country to democracy. International actors must take action now, and do everything in their power – including targeted sanctions, diplomatic maneuvering and support for civil society – to get the country back on the democratic path,” said Piromya.
Jan 21, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – As the trial of Kem Sokha, leader of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), resumes after a two year delay, Southeast Asian parliamentarians have reiterated their call for Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop the treason charges against him.
“The arbitrary arrest and politically-motivated treason charges against Kem Sokha have no place in a normal and functioning democracy. This is just another example of how the rule of law has existed by name only under Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. The arrest of Kem Sokha in 2017, and the subsequent dissolution of CNRP, was clearly aimed at eliminating any true political opposition for the 2018 elections, and beyond,” said Kasit Piromya, a Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former Thai Member of Parliament (MP).
Since Kem Sokha’s arrest, rights groups, including APHR, have expressed concern about his trial, including questionable or unfair judicial processes within Cambodia’s highly politicized courts, for charges that should have never been filed in the first place. The politically-compromised courts have allowed the case to drag on, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the delays, as prosecutors fail to produce substantive evidence, fully aware that a prolonged trial could mean stopping Kem Sokha’s participation from any political activity, APHR said.
Speaking to media before his trial re-commenced, Kem Sokha expressed hope that the court will drop the charges in the name of “national reconciliation and national unity to develop our country”.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen’s administration should immediately drop the charges against Kem Sokha and all other CNRP leaders and activists, stop abuses against other elected CNRP officials and activists, including intimidation, violence, arbitrary arrest, and unjust imprisonment, and restore their civil and political rights,” said Piromya. “The international community, including ASEAN and the UN, must not allow Hun Sen to continue to trample over any semblance of democracy or space for fundamental freedoms in Cambodia with impunity. These continued rights abuses are especially shameful as Cambodia takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2022.”
Without any positive progress in the cases of Kem Sokha and other CNRP leaders under arrest and/or facing judicial charges, and while space for political participation and other fundamental freedoms is closed, the upcoming Commune Elections in June 2022 and General Elections in 2023 will unfortunately result in another meaningless electoral exercise where the Cambodian people are denied a true democratic alternative to the decades-long rule of Hun Sen, APHR said.
Background
Following significant gains in commune-level elections by the CNRP in 2017, Cambodian authorities detained CNRP President Kem Sokha on 3 September 2017 on trumped-up charges, and several CNRP members fled the country in exile fearing arrest. In November 2017, a Supreme Court ruling dissolved the CNRP for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government, and banned 118 of its members from politics for five years. In July 2018, Cambodia held widely discredited elections in which the CNRP was not allowed to compete.
After a year in Cambodia’s Tbong Khmum Correctional Center, Kem Sokha was released and placed under house arrest following strong international pressure. In November 2019, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court released an order relaxing his bail conditions allowing him to leave his house but still restricted him from traveling outside Cambodia and participating in any political activity.
His trial began on 15 January 2020, however, authorities suspended them in March 2020 citing COVID-19 related concerns.
Jan 13, 2021 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Regional lawmakers today urged Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop all politically-motivated criminal charges against hundreds of members and supporters of the now-disbanded opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) for their alleged association with the party’s activities in 2019.
As several of those charged are currently living in exile, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) additionally called on authorities to allow for their safe return to Cambodia.
“After years of cementing the country as a one-party state, the unprecedented number of CNRP members and activists currently on trial shows how the ruling regime in Cambodia will stop at nothing until every last voice of political dissent is wiped out. How can it be a crime for merely associating or supporting a political party? A multi-party political system is crucial in any democratic society to ensure proper oversight of the government, and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s administration is clear that they will not tolerate anything of this sort,” said Kasit Piromya, APHR board member and former Thai foreign minister.
The Phnom Penh Municipal court will tomorrow continue hearing a mass trial of at least 136 individuals – all of whom are either former MPs, leaders, members, or supporters of the CNRP – with charges including “plotting” and “incitement to commit felony” under Articles 453, 494, and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code for their alleged involvement in CNRP acting president Sam Rainsy’s planned return to Cambodia in November 2019.
The mass trial appears to stem from the large crackdown of political activists that took place ahead of Rainsy’s 2019 return plans. During this time, the Cambodian government took drastic measures to prevent Rainsy from returning, including the issuance of his arrest warrants in neighboring countries, deploying troops at the Cambodian-Thai border, and threatening to use armed forces to suppress the opposition. While more than 70 activists were later released, under the instructions of Hun Sen and only after Rainsy was not able to enter the country, their charges were never officially dropped.
If found guilty, the defendants face up to 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of four million Cambodian riels (approximately $US 980).
Apart from the mass trial, former MPs, members, and senior leaders of the CNRP are also facing other separate trials related to the same purported return attempt in November 2019 with additional criminal charges such as “inciting military personnel to disobedience” and “attack”.
Of those charged, some are currently in detention and dozens more living in exile. CNRP members attempting to return again, this time to attend trial, including Vice President Mu Sochua, have reportedly had their Cambodian passports cancelled, and Cambodian authorities have said they will not issue them visas or passports.
“The fact that the authorities are not facilitating the appearance of all defendants in court only makes this case even more blatantly politically-motivated and a violation of their due process. Exiled CNRP members who have been charged must be allowed to return safely and be given the opportunity to hear and defend their case in court,” added Piromya.
These trials are only a few of other ongoing court cases against opposition leaders and human rights defenders, and come amid a relentless crackdown on civic space in Cambodia. Despite having eliminated the only viable political opposition and secured all parliamentary seats in the 2018 sham election, the ruling regime has continued to severely suppress fundamental freedoms, including the arrest, threats, and detention of human rights defenders, violent dispersing of peaceful protesters, and constriction of what little space remains of press freedom and for civil society to operate in.
“Let us not be fooled by Hun Sen and his brutal regime. It has moved beyond any pretense of democracy and we must call it out for what it is: a dictatorship. Southeast Asian governments, in particular, must be more proactive and use all leverage to pressure the Cambodian government to take meaningful steps to reverse its rights deterioration and comply with its obligations under the international human rights treaties it has ratified,” said Piromya.
Background
Following significant gains in commune-level elections by the CNRP in 2017, Cambodian authorities detained CNRP President Kem Sokha on 3 September 2017 on trumped-up charges and several CNRP members fled the country in fear of arrest. In November 2017, a Supreme Court ruling dissolved the CNRP for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government, and banned 118 of its members from politics for five years. In July 2018, Cambodia held widely discredited elections in which the CNRP was not allowed to compete. As a consequence, Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) currently holds all 125 seats in Parliament.
