Three of four environmental activists arrested on Wednesday are accused of plotting, a crime punishable by five to 10 years in prison, according to National Police.
Cambodia has in recent months privatized more than 120,000 hectares of land, lake and sea, according to a review of decrees published this year. In Kandal, developer Khun Sea has received a Mekong island, where some inhabitants are previous evictees of Phnom Penh’s Diamond Island.
The U.S. says it is ending aid to government entities under Greening Prey Lang, a project aimed at protecting the sanctuary, as the government silences local communities and civil society partners while “not adequately” prosecuting and putting an end to illegal logging.
An NGO officer said three young environmental activists were taken into custody in Phnom Penh and a fourth detained in Kandal province on Wednesday, but authorities have not confirmed the reported arrests, with National Police referring reporters to a Covid-19 committee.
Kea Sokun, a young Siem Reap rapper jailed for incitement over his nationalist lyrics, had his yearlong prison sentence upheld by the Appeal Court in Battambang on Wednesday.
Siem Reap province is seeing a 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew, fines for not wearing masks properly, and lockdowns in targeted areas as precautions over rising Covid-19 case numbers, officials in the province said.
A community representative in a Preah Sihanouk land dispute was arrested in a case in which three Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community members were also sentenced to jail last year, and which has previously been reported as involving Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly.
Ten to 20 percent of inmates at infected prisons — likely thousands of prisoners — were found with Covid-19, as a prison official said that weeks of concealing the extent of the outbreak was about preventing riots and protecting prison guards.
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh said a defense attaché was not granted “full access” to Ream Naval Base during a much-hyped visit on Friday, after a senior U.S. State Department official questioned the alleged presence of Chinese military personnel at the base.
A repeatedly delayed incitement trial for 14 activists in Tbong Khmum province has been scheduled again for next week, with families pleading for movement in the case — but a court spokesman said further potential delays would be up to the discretion of the judge.
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