After two years of unjust detention, Tep Vanny was given a royal pardon on 20 August 2018. Her release came just days after local, regional, and global organizations called on Cambodia's government to free her.
This statement was originally published on seapa.org on 21 August 2018.
Human rights defender Tep Vanny received a royal pardon and was released from prison on Monday, 20 August 2018.
Charges lobbed at her and other activists were “aimed at silencing voices who have dared to speak out,” said Amnesty International in a statement issued late last year.
Tap Vanny’s release came just days after local, regional (including the Southeast Asian Press Alliance), and global organizations championing human rights released a joint statement calling on the government to “immediately and unconditionally release Tep Vanny, drop all dormant criminal charges and overturn any convictions against her, so that she may return to her family and community.”
Until her release and since her unjust conviction as a staunch advocate of land rights, Tep Vanny languished in prison for more than two years.
