Inmates at Prey Sar prison now connected to mains water

The Prey Sar prison main gate. Previously only dirty well water was available to drink freely. This water is now used for the toilets and sanitation.

The Prey Sar prison and outside wall in Phnom Penh. Previously only dirty well water was available to drink freely. This water is now used for the toilets and sanitation.

14th of June 2012
Demotix

Prisoners held at the Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh Cambodia have finally got access to ten litres of tap water to drink each day. Inmates include the 13 women protestors who claimed their homes at the Boeung Kak lake had been illegally seized.

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Prisoners held at the Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh Cambodia, including the 13 women protestors who claimed their homes at the Boeung Kak lake have been illegally siezed, have finally got access to 'clean' drinking water.

The project funded by the Red Cross and the Phnom Penh Water Authority, inmates now have access to 10 litres of 'clean' tap water every day. This water is from the mains supply water to Phnom Penh and the connection was only possible due to Red Cross NGO assistance and funding.

Previously only dirty well water was available to drink freely. This water is now used for the toilets and sanitation. If inmates had the cash to splash then they could buy bottled water or sometimes rainwater, otherwise they had no clean water to drink.

The women Boeung Kak protestors, who are now allegedly on hunger strike, were jailed for an average of 2 years after a three hour court case held only two days after they were arrested for protesting on the land where their homes stood until recently. The prime development land at the Boeung Kak lake site is now owned by CPP government senator Lao Meng Khin and his development company cleared the land.

The much criticised trial of the women on May 24th 2012 has again highlighted the use of 'strong-arm' tactics by officials in Cambodia to oppress protestors when they challenge the legality with which their land and homes have been taken for use by property development companies.

The Phnom Penh Post today reported that: "US Embassy spokesperson Sean McIntosh said the US was “concerned” by the sentencing. “This trial was marked by serious irregularities, such as the defendants being taken to court without having been charged and being tried in three hours without lawyers or witness testimony,” he said by email."