Youth environmental activists advocating against the development of a Koh Kong island say they are facing threats and surveillance after authorities blocked an advocacy push at a Royal University of Phnom Penh event earlier this month.
The Ratanakiri Provincial Court has dropped forest-clearing charges against four indigenous forestry activists after a crime was not found, according to a rights group supporting the activists.
An anti-logging activist was on Tuesday convicted of assault against an alleged timber trader, as rights groups linked the verdict to ongoing harassment and intimidation against environmentalists in the country.
Three Mother Nature environmentalists arrested last year and already serving jail terms for incitement have been handed two further charges, insulting the king and plotting, which carry maximum jail sentences of five and 10 years respectively, their lawyer said.
Several Phnom Penh residents spoke in support of the arrested Mother Nature activists, but a common theme was growing fear around expressing themselves.
Mother Nature activists were “gathering strength for an uprising” as evidenced by a Zoom conference where they insulted government leaders and the king, while three arrested activists acknowledged they wanted people to rise up, the Interior Ministry said.
The British Embassy on Wednesday declined to say whether the U.K.’s visiting foreign secretary raised concerns over the arrests of three Mother Nature environmentalists charged with plotting and insulting the king.
Three Mother Nature environmentalists were charged on Monday and placed in pretrial detention at Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison, as the mother of one of the activists said she was in shock but buoyed by support on social media, including from celebrities.
Four activists arrested this week are all from environmental group Mother Nature, a rights group has said — as an Interior Ministry official alleged the “rebellious” group was using foreign money to try to topple the government.
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.
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