At Phnom Penh’s Al-Serkal Mosque, the faded paper notice announcing the closure of the mosque due to coronavirus concerns was still affixed to the front door. But despite the sign, the door was reopened to worshippers for the first time in six months on Friday.
Authorities are closing “a little loophole” in Covid-19 quarantine procedures following the escape of two Chinese men from a hotel on Wednesday night, with officers on the chase and “accomplices” brought in for questioning.
A gender rights advocate has said the demotion of a male provincial police chief accused of pressuring women officers to perform sex acts in return for promotions did not go far enough to protect the women and bring them justice.
A young rapper and a TikTok broadcaster have been arrested over videos that Cambodian authorities deemed to have the potential to cause chaos in society.
A recent wave of arrests of youth activists show the government’s fear of outspoken dissidents, and the potential for small demonstrations to become large-scale protests, political activists and analysts say, while a ruling party official denied any such fear yet suggested that the CPP intended to put out a “fire” before it spread.
Khmer Thavrak started from a core group of about 30 activists in January, Metta explained, with small groups of four or five people sporadically joining over the past nine months. She too joined that way: Metta worked as a chef in a Kratie restaurant, and later in a Chinese restaurant in Phnom Penh, but she was always following social issues in the news.
A group of four Khmer Thavrak protesters believed their tuk-tuk was being tailed by police and asked the driver to make random turns before heading to a U.N. office for help. Eventually, one of the four was arrested outside her home, another member said.
Police have targeted seven unions and associations for a “survey” of employees and their documentation, though a police official said the project has been put on hold for now after investigating two of the groups.
The Justice Ministry said it has cleared 8,000 backlogged court cases, though closure eludes a defendant with a 12-year-old charge.
Three activists — including a monk — were arrested over two days at a series of small protests ongoing in Phnom Penh, with the Interior Ministry ordering action against two groups “causing chaos in society.”
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