Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
Click here for a Thai version of this statement
Click here for a Khmer version of this statement
JAKARTA – Following the recent abduction of Thai political activist Wanchalerm Satsakit in Phnom Penh, regional MPs are today calling on the Cambodian and Thai authorities to investigate the case and ensure his safety as a matter of urgency.
“The fact that a Thai political activist has been brazenly abducted on the streets of the Cambodian capital is a matter of extreme concern,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP), and chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “ASEAN governments that allow these types of actions to take place on their territory are effectively turning our region into an autocrats’ heaven, where the persecution of dissent knows no borders.”
On the afternoon of 4 June, two days after he posted an anti-government video on Facebook, a group of armed men abducted Wanchalerm close to his apartment in the Cambodian capital, and took him away in a black car, according to media reports. A colleague who was talking to him on the phone at the time heard him scream, “Argh, I can’t breathe,” before the call was cut off.
In June 2018, Thai authorities issued an arrest warrant for Wanchalerm, accusing him of violating the Computer-Related Crime Act for operating a Facebook page that is critical of the Thai government.
The Cambodian government and Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh have both said they have “no information” about Wanchalerm’s whereabouts.
In recent years, authorities in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia, have all been accused of arresting and returning critics of neighbouring countries. For example, in 2019 a Vietnamese blogger disappeared from a Bangkok mall before re-emerging in a Vietnam prison, and months later three anti-royalist Thai activists were reportedly arrested in Vietnam and have not been heard from since. In January, the bodies of two exiled critics of Thailand’s military and royal family were found along the Mekong River border with Laos, while in 2018, human rights groups criticised Thailand for deporting a Cambodian who fled her country to avoid prosecution after a video was shared on social media showing her throwing a shoe at an image of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“This growing trend of Southeast Asian governments exchanging political dissidents is sinister. ASEAN leaders should protect democracy not autocracy, something that starts with respecting their obligation to grant asylum and protecting those who flee persecution,” Santiago said.
APHR calls on parliamentarians in Thailand and Cambodia to hold their governments to account by asking for regular reports on their respective efforts and progress in finding the whereabouts of Wanchalerm Satsakit.
Nov 9, 2020 | COVID19, DFF, Opinion Articles
By Mu Sochua, APHR Board Member and former Cambodian MP
A 14-year-old in Kampot, Cambodia, was detained and forced by police to publicly apologize after expressing fear about the coronavirus in a Facebook message. A Siem Reap man was arrested after posting social media videos criticizing Cambodia’s lackluster coronavirus testing. Altogether, dozens of Cambodians have been arrested in recent weeks after being accused of spreading fake news about COVID-19, released only after signing apology documents. Among those still in jail are four members of the banned opposition party. Lumping together criticism with misinformation, Prime Minister Hun Sen has branded those “who spread fake news” as “terrorists.”‘
The Cambodian cases are part of a broader trend of Southeast Asian governments using the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on free speech. As the coronavirus continues to spread across the region, governments have adopted new measures, including emergency decrees, to slow the rate of infections. These efforts—while crucial to protect public health—have been accompanied by sweeping free speech restrictions under the pretext of combating the spread of false information and maintaining public order.
Many of these new regulations have been used to arrest, detain, or question hundreds of people for criticizing government handling of the crisis, or merely for sharing coronavirus-related information. Authorities have also resorted to strict measures against the press to censor and stifle independent media, confirming fears that authoritarian governments are exploiting the pandemic to advance their political interests.
In my home country, Cambodia, 12 supporters or members of my former party, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, have been arrested since the outbreak began, under spurious charges including inciting military personnel to disobedience and provocation to commit offenses. The party was dissolved under politically motivated charges in 2017, and many of its former members, including myself, are now in exile.
This worrying trend looks set to continue. Last month, Cambodia’s National Assembly passed the state of emergency law, which grants the government broad powers to “monitor, observe, and gather information from all telecommunication mediums” and control the “distribution of information that could scare the public, [cause] unrest, or that can negatively impact national security.”
Given Hun Sen’s history of rights violations and use of any means necessary to retain power, this new law is likely to become yet another tool in his playbook to silence dissent.
Neighboring countries under strongman rule, including Thailand and the Philippines, have employed similar emergency powers to restrict information related to the virus. Just two days after the emergency law was passed in the Philippines, police filed criminal complaints against a mayor and two journalists for allegedly sharing false information that a patient with the virus had died at a hospital in Cavite City, close to Manila.
Governments are increasingly targeting reporters and news providers as part of efforts to curb so-called fake news, or they are using laws that grant authorities vague powers under the guise of national security. In Malaysia, the South China Morning Post journalist Tashny Sukumaran was questioned by the police for her reporting on the raids and arrests of hundreds of migrant workers and refugees as part of government efforts to tackle the pandemic. She is being investigated for provoking a breach of peace and misusing network facilities. In Myanmar, the Ministry of Communications and Transport blocked more than 200 websites, which they claimed spread fake news, under a provision that allows the government to suspend the use of telecommunication services for the “benefit of the people.” Such laws are problematic, as they confer extensive powers to states to determine what is true or false, as well as the type of information that can be published and accessed by the public.
Wider efforts in the region to tackle misinformation about the virus also saw Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha warn that the government could suspend or edit news that is “untrue,” and Malaysian authorities have instructed the police and the Communications and Multimedia Commission to take “stern action” against online media that supposedly misreport the news.
There is no doubt that misinformation surrounding the coronavirus can be dangerous—leading, for instance, to false treatments or the scapegoating of vulnerable populations. But governments in Southeast Asia are resorting to disproportionate methods to fight misinformation by censoring both legitimate information and valid criticisms that are vital to the promotion of transparency and accountability.
Journalists in the region are already operating in hostile environments, and governments’ heavy-handed approach will make reporting more difficult and exacerbate the decline of free speech and independent media.
Beyond reporters, anyone who dares to speak on social media about COVID-19 is increasingly at risk of arrest—as the Cambodian cases demonstrate. In Thailand, a street artist was arrested and charged with causing damage to Bangkok’s main airport after posting on Facebook about the absence of coronavirus screenings there. Meanwhile, an Indonesian man who criticized President Joko Widodo on social media for his response to the virus was slapped with charges relating to defamation and inciting racial hatred.
Reportedly, more than 600 Facebook users in Vietnam have been hauled in by the police for questioning, while hundreds more in Malaysia are being investigated for disseminating supposed fake news. A Malaysian lawmaker, Fuziah Salleh, has also been charged for allegedly causing “fear or alarm to the public” for a video posted on her Facebook page that appeared to show crowded scenes at a border crossing—which the police said was an old video. While governments have the responsibility to counter misinformation, they should never resort to criminal prosecution or heavy censorship. This could stifle open communication and heavily restrict the right to freedom of expression, important to curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Instead, authorities should adopt less intrusive methods, such as supporting digital literacy and proactively disclosing information relating to COVID-19.
Now more than ever, citizens must remain vigilant and continue to urge their governments to uphold human rights during this pandemic. Even where parliaments are in recess, or where there is no longer an opposition, lawmakers past and present can use their influence to call out rights violations and support civil society and the media—which also play crucial roles in the fight against COVID-19.
While freedom of expression is not absolute and restrictions are warranted during crises, our leaders should be reminded that measures taken must remain necessary and proportionate to containing the virus. They should also not quash dissent or serve other aims. Although the spread of misinformation can undermine health efforts, ensuring an enabling environment for freedom of expression—including an independent media—will safeguard the free flow of information that is vital in tackling the pandemic, and which can effectively address misinformation.
Any curtailment of rights that can be implemented for an indefinite period must be closely monitored to prevent the deepening of human rights violations beyond COVID-19.
This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy.
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
A Myanmar version of this statement is available here.
We, the 29 undersigned organizations, call on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet communications in eight townships in Rakhine State and one township in Chin State. We are particularly concerned by the Government of Myanmar’s recent reinstatement of restrictions on mobile internet access in five townships on February 3, 2020, after lifting restrictions in those townships earlier.
We call on the Government of Myanmar to release publicly the justification for the internet shutdown and all information related to the process by which these restrictions were imposed.
The government first imposed restrictions on mobile internet communications on June 21, 2019 in Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State. On September 1, the government lifted restrictions in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Myebon, Paletwa, and Rathedaung townships.
On February 3, 2020, a telecommunications provider reported that the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered the reinstatement of the restrictions in those five townships. The company published a statement on its website saying that the Ministry referenced “security requirement and public interest” in issuing the order.
The almost eight-month blackout in Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, and Ponnagyun townships is one of the world’s longest government-imposed shutdowns of mobile internet communications.
The internet restrictions disproportionately affect civilians in conflict areas, hampering humanitarian aid operations, livelihoods, and the work of human rights monitors.
The shutdown appears to be a response by the Government of Myanmar to the ongoing conflict between the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army and the Myanmar military. An escalation in fighting since the start of 2019 has displaced tens of thousands of civilians in conflict-affected townships in Rakhine and Chin states.
It is likely that the shutdown will also make it much more difficult to assess Myanmar’s compliance with the January 2020 ruling by the International Court of Justice, ordering “provisional measures” to protect the Rohingya community in Rakhine State from genocidal acts.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee said in her end of mission statement on January 23, 2020 that the restrictions imposed by the by Myanmar’s authorities “severely exacerbate” the humanitarian impact of the conflict.
Following the initial shutdown of mobile internet services in June 2019, the Special Rapporteur expressed deep concern for civilians who are “cut off and without the necessary means to communicate with people inside and outside the area.”
We join the Special Rapporteur in calling on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet services in order to guarantee the right to freedom of expression, including access to information, for those in Rakhine and Chin States. We also call on the government to repeal Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law, which provides overly broad powers to the Ministry of Transport and
Communications, including to direct telecommunications operators to suspend telecommunications services.
Any restrictions on service in times of emergency should be narrowly defined, subject to prior judicial approval, and reserved for exceptional circumstances.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to “receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be the exception, rather than the rule, and must be provided in law; applied only in specific circumstances, namely to protect the rights and reputation of others or to ensure national security, public order, public health, or public morals; and
be necessary and proportionate, that is, the least restrictive means required to achieve any of the above aims. All three requirements need to be met for a restriction to accord with international human rights law and standards.
Recognizing the internet as a “key means” for individuals to exercise this right, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression has stated that States have a positive obligation to adopt “effective and concrete policies and strategies . . . to make the Internet widely available, accessible and affordable to all.”
In a 2016 resolution on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, the U.N. Human Rights Council stated that it “[c]ondemns unequivocally measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online . . . and calls on all States to refrain from and cease such measures.”
In September 2019, the Human Rights Council called on the government of Myanmar to restore internet access to Rakhine State and to repeal Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law.
The undersigned also call on the Myanmar Government to allow humanitarian workers, independent journalists, and human rights monitors unfettered and sustained access to Rakhine and Chin States.
Signed:
- ARAKKA Foundation
- ARTICLE 19
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
- All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
- Amnesty International
- Arakan Information Center
- Arakan Rivers Network
- Athan
- Burma Campaign UK
- Burma Human Rights Network
- Burma Task Force
- Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
- Chin Human Rights Organization
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
- Fortify Rights
- Human Rights Watch
- Justice For All
- Karen Women’s Organization
- Peace and Development Initiative -Kintha
- Refugees International
- Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
- Rohingya Student Network
- Rohingya Youth for Legal Action
- Synergy
- The Arakan Project
- Women Peace Network
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
A Khmer version of this statement is available here.
JAKARTA – Lawmakers from Southeast Asia today expressed disappointment that the Cambodian Supreme Court did not grant bail to youth activist Kong Raya, urging the authorities to immediately release him along with fellow activist Soung Neak Poan, and drop all charges against them and other individuals detained solely for exercising their fundamental freedoms.
The Court failed to make a decision on the request today, pending a formal ruling to be announced on November 4. This is yet another illustration of the Cambodian authorities’ misuse of the judiciary to keep anyone with a critical mind behind bars, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), warning of excessive use of pretrial detention.
Kong Raya and Soung Neak Poan were charged earlier this year with ‘incitement to commit a felony’ after commemorating the three-year anniversary of the death of Kem Ley, a prominent Cambodian political analyst who was murdered in broad daylight on 10 July 2016. Kem Ley was particularly critical of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Government.
“The allegations against them are ludicrous. Their case illustrates how in today’s Cambodia anyone who dares to express any form of support to critics of Hun Sen, even the least threatening and most remote ones, end up straight in jail,” said Eva Sundari, former Indonesian Member of Parliament (MP) and APHR Board Member.
Kong Raya was arrested on 9 July 2019 for selling t-shirts on Facebook with Kem Ley’s image, as well as the phone number of a taxi driver who was available to drive people to the commemoration. Soung Neak Poan, a former member of Kem Ley’s youth group, was arrested the next day at a commemorative ceremony outside the petrol station where Kem Ley was murdered. Prior to his arrest, Soung Neak Poan was holding a sign reading “end extrajudicial killings”.
“Instead of arresting activists calling for justice, the Cambodian government should work to provide long-overdue accountability and justice for Kem Ley’s murder. An independent, transparent and impartial investigation must finally be conducted to address the many unanswered questions about his murder,” said Charles Santiago, Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP) and APHR Chair.
The detention of Kong Raya and Soung Neak Poan are part of a wider ongoing and systematic crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen on dissent in Cambodia. After the disbandment of Cambodia’s main opposition party, the shut down of most independent media and widely discredited elections held in 2018, Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) currently holds all 125 of the seats in Parliament, as well as all representation at the provincial and local levels, effectively making it a one-party state.
Members of and activists associated with the opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), have increasingly become the targets of arrests and harassment since the party was dissolved in November 2017. In recent weeks, ahead of the planned return of prominent exiled politicians on 9 November, dozens of CNRP members have been arrested. APHR reiterates that all those who wish to work constructively and peacefully towards democracy in Cambodia must be allowed to do so without fear of reprisal.
“Without a viable opposition to provide checks and balances, Hun Sen’s authoritarian rule is threatening the country’s development and having a detrimental effect on its citizens. For the benefit of everyone in Cambodia, Hun Sen should let exiled politicians return peacefully to restore democracy in the country and build a better society for all Cambodians,” said Walden Bello, former Philippine MP and APHR Board Member.
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
A Khmer version of this joint statement is available here.
Phnom Penh – We, the undersigned civil society organizations strongly condemn the decision by the Municipal Court judge to continue the investigation into unsubstantiated espionage charges against Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin. The pair were arbitrarily arrested, detained and charged for the peaceful exercise of their freedom of expression and for their work as investigative journalists on issues of social justice. Yesterday’s hearing showed that there is a complete lack of evidence in support of these baseless charges exposing fair trial rights violations and highlighting the trial as a blatant affront to freedom of expression and media freedom in Cambodia. We urge the authorities to immediately drop all charges against the pair.
Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists, were arrested on 14 November 2017 and detained in Prey Sar prison. They were provisionally charged four days later with ‘supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence’, under Article 445 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code. The pair – who worked for RFA’s, now closed, Cambodia bureau – were denied their first bail application on appeal before the Supreme Court on 16 March 2018 and soon afterwards were charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with the alleged production of pornography under Article 39 of the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. As a result of the accumulated charges, each face 16 years in prison. On 21 August 2018 they were both released from Prey Sar prison on bail, after more than nine months in pre-trial detention, however remain under judicial supervision.
The original verdict hearing was scheduled for 30 August 2019 but on the morning of the hearing it was delayed due to an unannounced absence of the judge. It was subsequently scheduled for 03 October 2019, however the Phnom Penh Municipal Court again failed to deliver a verdict on the grounds that further investigation was required. The failure to reach a verdict is indicative of a lack of credible evidence against the pair and as such illustrates that there is insufficient evidence to hold them criminally liable as per the burden of proof standards enshrined in Article 38 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (Constitution). Throughout the process of their arrest, detention, and ongoing trial, Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin have been denied the rights to fair trial, liberty and security protected under domestic and international human rights law.
Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), incorporated into domestic law by the Constitution, states that ‘no one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law.’ Article 14 thereafter preserves the rights to ‘be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law’ and to presumption of innocence. The charges levelled against Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin are unsubstantiated and lack a clear legal basis. Instead, they have been employed as a means to punish the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression and silence journalism critical of the government. The pair had previously reported on a wide range of human rights issues.
In addition to baseless charges, the holding of these two men in pre-trial detention in deplorable conditions for more than nine months, and their continued placement under judicial supervision of already 12 months, violates their right to liberty and to a fair trial guaranteed under international law and the Constitution. International law stipulates that people charged with criminal offenses should not, as a general rule, be held in custody pending trial – a requirement not adhered to in Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin’s case.
In May 2019, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion on the case, finding that the Cambodian government had failed to (1) establish a legal basis for arrest and detention, and (2) provide proof that it had considered alternatives to pre-trial detention. Concluding that the pre-trial detention of the journalists resulted from their peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of association and the freedom of expression, the Working Group found their deprivation of liberty to be arbitrary.
The prosecution of Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin is but one piece of the broader legal assault on journalists, human rights defenders, members of the political opposition, union leaders, activists, civil society representatives and individuals expressing their views on matters of public interest, including expressions of critical dissent. While the situation of press freedom was already constricted prior to 2017, since then Cambodia has seen almost all of its independent and local media silenced. Critical Khmer-language media outlets have had their activities severely restricted, including via the closure of 32 radio stations relaying RFA, Voice of America (VOA) and Voice of Democracy (VOD). RFA closed its Cambodia bureau in September 2017, citing the repressive environment and ongoing harassment of their journalists. The change of ownership of the Phnom Penh Post in May 2018, Cambodia’s last remaining independent English-Khmer language daily, was widely regarded as the last blow to press freedom in Cambodia. The space for freedom of expression online is also severely curtailed, illustrated through the increase in harassment of individuals who merely peacefully dissent or express their opinions through shares, posts or likes on Facebook.
The right to freedom of expression, protected by Article 19 of the ICCPR and Article 41 of the Constitution, is essential for the guarantee of the exercise of all human rights, including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of information, and the right to develop one’s personality and private life. As such, the importance of creating an enabling environment in which journalists are free to conduct their work – including by exposing corruption, expressing diverse viewpoints and shedding light on human rights violations – cannot be understated.
The failure to vacate the charges against Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin strikes yet another blow against what little remains of freedom of expression and media freedom in Cambodia. This case sends a clear warning to individuals who dare to exercise their fundamental right to freedom of expression and fosters an environment of intimidation and censorship. The legitimate and invaluable work of these individuals should be recognized, in line with Cambodia’s human rights obligations, and they should be able to carry out their activities in the future without fear of reprisal, obstruction or threat of prosecution. We encourage the Royal Government of Cambodia to cease its intimidation and harassment of all individuals exercising their right to freedom of expression and to re-establish an enabling environment for a free and pluralistic media and a thriving civil society in line with its obligations under the Constitution and international human rights law.
– END –
This joint statement is endorsed by:
- Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT)
- Amnesty International
- Article 19
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
- CamAsean Youth’s Future (CamASEAN)
- Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
- Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
- Cambodian Food And Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA)
- Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS)
- Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
- Coalition for Integrity & Social Accountability (CISA)
- Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL)
- Community Legal Education Center (CLEC)
- Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
- Independent Trade Union Federation (INTUFE)
- Indradevi Association (IDA)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)
- Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association (KKKHRDA)
- Klahaan
- Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of Naga World (L.S.U)
- Minority Rights Organization (MIRO)
- People Center for Development and Peace (PDP–Center)
- Ponlok Khmer (PKH)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
- Urban Poor Women Development (UPWD)
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
- Youth Education for Development and Peace (YEDP)
- Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP)
