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The
Observatory has been informed about the conviction and sentencing of
Mr Koet
Saray,
President of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association
(KSILA), a group that works on capacity building to increase
students’ participation in social development, good governance, and
sustainable use of natural resources in Cambodia.
On
November 6, 2024, the Phnom Penh Capital Court convicted Koet Saray
of “incitement to commit a felony” and “committing a
misdemeanour after sentencing for a misdemeanour” under Articles
494, 495, and 88 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code. He was subsequently
sentenced to four years in prison and fined two million riel
(approximately 420 Euro).
The
conviction of Koet Saray relates to a decade-long land dispute in
Preah Vihear Province, where approximately 300 families were evicted
from their homes in Kuleaen District to make way for a rubber
plantation on a government-granted land concession to Seladamex Co.,
Ltd, a Phnom Penh-based company. On March 21, 2024, Koet Saray
visited a group of these evicted villagers who were hiding in a
nearby forest area, and spoke to reporters about their situation.
The
Observatory recalls that on April 5, 2024, Koet Saray was arrested
following an order issued on the same day by the Office of the
Prosecutor at Phnom Penh Capital Court. He was charged with
“incitement to cause serious chaos to social security”. On April
7, 2024, an investigating judge at Phnom Penh Capital Court remanded
him to pretrial detention at Phnom Penh’s Correctional Centre 1
(CC1) on charges of “committing a misdemeanour after sentencing for
another misdemeanour” and “incitement to commit a felony”,
following an order issued by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh
Capital Court. At the time of publication of this urgent appeal, Koet
Saray was still arbitrarily detained at CC1.
The
Observatory further recalls that Koet Saray was previously
arbitrarily
arrested
on September 6, 2020, in connection with his participation in a
peaceful gathering at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park calling for the
release of then-imprisoned union leader Rong
Chhun.
He was charged with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social
unrest”, and sentenced in October 2021 to 20 months in prison, with
six months of his sentence suspended for a period of two years. He
was additionally fined two million riel (approximately 420 Euro) and
placed under pre-trial detention in CC1. He was released
on November 5, 2021.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the convictions, prison sentences, and
arbitrary detention of Koet Saray. The Observatory urges the
Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him
and to put an end to all acts of harassment, including at the
judicial level, against him and all other human rights defenders in
the country.
The
Observatory further urges the Cambodian authorities to guarantee in
all circumstances the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in
international human rights law and particularly in Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which
Cambodia is a state party.
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