DPA
Phnom Penh - A US-based human rights group on Wednesday demanded Cambodia's leaders end what it called a campaign of 'harassment, threats, and unwarranted legal action' against government critics following a spate of court rulings apparently aimed at limiting free speech.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had filed nine defamation and disinformation suits this year against journalists, opposition party members and civil society leaders.
'The Cambodian government is imposing its most serious crackdown on freedom of expression in recent years,' the group's director, Brad Adams, said in a statement. 'Once again, Hun Sen is showing his true stripes by harassing and threatening to imprison peaceful critics of his increasingly authoritarian government.'
The group's demand came a day after Moeung Sonn, president of the non-profit Khmer Civilization Foundation, was sentenced in absentia to two years prison for disinformation, after he accused the government of damaging the historic Angkor Wat temple by installing lighting fixtures in the building's walls.
Moeung Sonn was in France at the time of the ruling.
Last week the publishers of Moneaksekar Khmer, an opposition-affiliated newspaper, closed operations after being threatened with legal action and forced to apologize for recent criticism of government officials, the statement said.
Two opposition lawmakers are expected to face trial for defamation in coming weeks after the CPP-dominated legislature voted to strip the pair of their parliamentary immunity.
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the Human Rights Watch statement was based on 'uninformed observations' about Cambodia's media and legal system and 'did not tell the whole story.'
'I appreciate their concern about freedom of speech, but they incorrectly mixed defamation with the other cases, which relate to misinformation and national security,' he said. 'The rule of law requires that the government can take people to court to judge whether they are right or wrong.'
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had filed nine defamation and disinformation suits this year against journalists, opposition party members and civil society leaders.
'The Cambodian government is imposing its most serious crackdown on freedom of expression in recent years,' the group's director, Brad Adams, said in a statement. 'Once again, Hun Sen is showing his true stripes by harassing and threatening to imprison peaceful critics of his increasingly authoritarian government.'
The group's demand came a day after Moeung Sonn, president of the non-profit Khmer Civilization Foundation, was sentenced in absentia to two years prison for disinformation, after he accused the government of damaging the historic Angkor Wat temple by installing lighting fixtures in the building's walls.
Moeung Sonn was in France at the time of the ruling.
Last week the publishers of Moneaksekar Khmer, an opposition-affiliated newspaper, closed operations after being threatened with legal action and forced to apologize for recent criticism of government officials, the statement said.
Two opposition lawmakers are expected to face trial for defamation in coming weeks after the CPP-dominated legislature voted to strip the pair of their parliamentary immunity.
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the Human Rights Watch statement was based on 'uninformed observations' about Cambodia's media and legal system and 'did not tell the whole story.'
'I appreciate their concern about freedom of speech, but they incorrectly mixed defamation with the other cases, which relate to misinformation and national security,' he said. 'The rule of law requires that the government can take people to court to judge whether they are right or wrong.'
4 comments:
I applaud USA people, or humain rights organization whatever, who always rise voice against atrocities and autocratic practices of hun sen regime and around the world while French, not only shut their heel up but deal with this band of criminals for few more $$$ in their pocket. Yet French people has no shamed to view themselves as champion of democracy and humain rights. Look how they are lamentable hypocrites clowns while invited hun sen as their honored guest for July 14 but refuse to take responsibility. What they are different from hun sen and his assembling
What hypocrite ill people !!!
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
Tortures
Executions
Massacres
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Overwork to Death
Slavery
Rapes
Human Abuses
Assault and Battery
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
Assassinations
Assassinate Journalists
Assassinate Political Opponents
Murders
Killings
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and others military official on board.
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Remove Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Under Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed all of these crimes above within Hun Sen Khmer Rouge government have ever been brought to justice.
Gentleman
Anything to do with public duties or obligations is NOT a defamation.
Phay siphan has an obligation to varify any misunderstanding with his right information,and that is his public obligations in govt.
Offials or public servants should be clear enough now the differences between private affairs and public affairs(citizen affairs).
Again and again this made cambodians very ashamed of .
Neang SA
i told you, this looks bad in the international arena. cambodian gov't should suppress people's rights to freedom of speech, expression and democracy gathering, etc... instead, gov't should encourage the freedom to demonstrate, protest, well, and a good code of ethics as well.
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