(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 4 January 2006, a third human rights defender was arrested and detained on defamation charges over a controversial anti-government banner in what is seen as an extension of the crackdown launched against critics of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodian newspapers reported on 5 January. Deputy President of the Cambodian Center for Human […]
(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 4 January 2006, a third human rights defender was arrested and detained on defamation charges over a controversial anti-government banner in what is seen as an extension of the crackdown launched against critics of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodian newspapers reported on 5 January.
Deputy President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) Pa Nguon Teang and two companions were arrested at the Dom Kralor border checkpoint in Stung Treng District by the Strung Treng provincial police. The arrest was undertaken on the order of Phnom Penh Investigating Judge Sao Meach, CCHR’s lawyer Som Chandina told “Rasmei Kampuchea,” a local daily.
Pa Ngoun Teang told the “Cambodia Daily” newspaper by phone soon after his detention that he, CCHR spokesman Ou Virak and a third unidentified man were traveling in the province to talk about human rights with local villagers. He denied that they were attempting to flee to Laos.
Police later freed Ou Virak and the unidentified third man. Pa Nguon Teang was in custody at the Ministry of Interior on the evening of 4 January, said CCHR officials.
Pa Nguon Teang’s arrest came four days after CCHR President Kem Sokha and Community Legal Education Center Director Yeng Virak were detained and charged with defaming the government.
The charges stem from a controversial banner with the words “It is a Communist Government and Traitor Regime,” which was displayed during a celebration of International Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh on 10 December.
According to government lawyer Suong Chanthan, the banner accused the Hun Sen-led government of selling land to Vietnam and of being communist, reports “Ramei Kampuchea”. But CCHR insisted the government has exaggerated the message and that the banner merely displayed a collection of statements written by the public in an exercise of freedom of expression.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Pa Nguon Teang’s arrest is a result of his role in the human rights day celebration, but that the official has not been charged yet, the “Cambodia Daily” reports.
“We have brought him to Phnom Penh for questioning and consultation,” said Khieu Kanharith, reports the newspaper.
International human rights and free expression advocacy groups, including New York-based Human Rights Watch and SEAPA, have condemned the rash of arrests and detentions of government critics, including members of the media, and called into question the Cambodian government’s commitment to democracy and human rights.
The 19 signatories to the Cambodian peace agreement, which include major donors of international aid to the country, were also called upon to pressure the Cambodian government to stop this systematic crackdown and to immediately release all individuals unjustly detained.
