Send a letter calling on the Cambodian authorities to free 71-year-old broadcaster and activist Mam Sonando, sentenced to 20 years in prison, who is in ill-health.
Join PEN International’s call to appeal to the Cambodian authorities to overturn the 20-year sentence handed down to prominent journalist and human rights defender Mam Sonando, and to demand that he is given immediate and full access to all necessary medical care. Mam Sonando, who is 71-years-old, is reportedly in poor health in prison. In a letter to the Cambodian authorities, led by IFEX member the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), over forty IFEX members expressed deep concern over the arbitrary detention of Mam Sonando prior to his sentencing.
Please send appeals immediately:
Send appeals to:
Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen
Office of the Prime Minister
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Fax: + 855 23 360 666
Email: cppparty (@) gmail.com
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country
**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 31 October 2012**
Background from Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International:
On 1 October 2012 the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found journalist, human rights activist, and director of the independent Beehive Radio Station Mam Sonando guilty of anti-state offences, including instigating “insurrection”, and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. He is accused of inciting villagers in Kratie province in northeastern Cambodia to protest a government order to seize land in the village and transfer it to a private holding company. There are about 1,000 families in the village. A teenage girl was shot dead by security forces during that protest. Mam Sonando has never been to Kratie province and does not know any of the villagers, and was abroad in France when the protest took place. No evidence was provided to support the charges, and Mam Sonando is believed to be targeted for his vocal criticism of forced evictions and “land grabs” in Cambodia. He has been jailed twice previously for speaking out against the increasingly common practice of appropriating property in Cambodia.
The case against Mam Sonando stems from a speech made by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on 26 June 2012, in which he accused Mam Sonando and members of the Association of Democrats of being behind a plot for Pro Ma village in Kratie province to secede from Cambodia. Hun Sen’s speech came soon after Beehive Radio broadcast a report about a complaint lodged in June 2012 at the International Criminal Court that accuses Cambodia’s government of committing crimes against humanity by displacing thousands of people through forced evictions. On 15 July 2012, Mam Sonando was arrested at his home in Phnom Penh on charges of insurrection.
Mam Sonando’s conviction comes amid rising concerns over the climate for freedom of expression in Cambodia, where government critics are the target of intimidation and harassment and often accused of being members of opposition parties, and where at least 10 writers, journalists, and activists have been killed since the 1990s and many more have been forced into exile. In addition, several writers have been prosecuted under criminal defamation laws aimed at silencing government critics, and a climate of impunity prevails. In this environment, Mam Sonando has been a brave defender of the right of all Cambodians to freedom of expression. Beehive Radio is one of just two independent media stations that have programs that allow individuals from all walks of life to raise their voices and express their concerns about their lives and their country. The imprisonment of Mam Sonando is likely to have a chilling effect on independent media in Cambodia and further shrink the space where Cambodia’s citizens can participate in discussions and debates about policies and issues that affect their lives.
Mam Sonando, who is 71 years old, has reportedly contracted a serious respiratory infection in prison, and there are serious concerns about his health.
