http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MrwgE7cCY
Showing posts with label Prey Sar jail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prey Sar jail. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Inmates at Prey Sar prison now connected to mains water
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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.
Description:
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.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Donation to Beung Kak Lake women Handed to them inside Prey Sar Prison
By Mu Sochua
Sam Rainsy Party MPs, Ket Khy, Noun Vuthy and Mu Sochua met the 13 Boeung Kak Lake women land owners sentenced by the Phnom Penh Court on an illegal summary trial without their defense lawyers on May 24, 2012. All, except an elderly woman were sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison.
Although in good health, the women speak of their worries for their children who are now living in fear and deep depression.
"We want justice now. We should not be in this prison. We have lost our land and our human rights", said Tep Vanny.
"Please convey to the people outside not to forget us", she continues.
SRP MPs have written to His Majesty the King for the immediate release of the land owners.
MP, Mu Sochua who has been collected contributions from donors through her blog, handed US$1,570 to the women.
US$100 were kept by the women for food inside the prison and the rest is kept by their networks to support the continued action for their release and for justice.
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| Thank you for your generous contributions! |
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Dedicate to the courageous Boeung Kak Lake women at Prey Sar jail
A dedication to the courageous and beautiful mothers, grandma...
If Hun Sen even has a tiny room in his heart for his mother, grandma, wife, daughter or grand daughter,
he would not treat these innocent women like this.
Hun Xen, if I were your mother, I would be very disappointed to have an evil child like you who has no respect for women...You will be forever drowning in the ocean of samsara...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
[Ken Sara] Member of Cabinet arrested and imprisoned
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| Ken Sara photographed with his weapon at the military police office. Photo Supplied |
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post
Hun Sen had taken swift action to sack Ken Sara yesterday by signing a sub-decree confirming the dismissal
A cabinet member and sometime speechwriter for Prime Minister Hun Sen was being detained in Prey Sar prison yesterday, accused of firing his gun while drunk and assaulting a motodop.
A government source, who did not wish to be named, told the Post Ken Sara, a former anti-government activist who defected to the CPP ranks, had been sacked from Hun Sen’s Cabinet yesterday after being arrested over a “drunken” Khmer New Year incident in the capital’s Daun Penh district on Friday.
Ken Sara, a former member of Hun Sen’s group of secretaries, whose role also included helping to plan the prime minister’s schedule, had faced court on Monday, Sun Lean, chief of Prey Sar’s Correctional Centre I, said.
“He was sent to jail on Monday. He was charged with using a weapon without permission and committing a violent act,” Sun Lean said. “He is at the prison awaiting his trial.”
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
[Thai] Foreign minister vows to help 2 Thais in Prey Sar
By NNT
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)
BANGKOK, 15 August 2011 – Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul has promised to help Thai Patriots Network coordinator Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon now detained in Prey Sar prison in Cambodia.
Mr Surapong stated that the new government is intent on helping the two Thai inmates and will do all it can to do so. He added that concrete measures on how to help the two will be discussed in due course to make sure they are in accordance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ procedures.
Mr Veera and Ms Ratree have been sentenced to eight and six years in prison respectively for illegal entry, trespassing into military zone and espionage. They were arrested at the end of last year and have been detained in Prey Sar prison since then.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Prison Officials Questioned After Inspection
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
“The Interior Ministry must make a thorough investigation. If any prison official commits a penal offense in prison, that official must be sent to court in conformity with the law. This is a model to strengthen prison management.”
The Ministry of Interior on Thursday called in five officials at Prey Sar prison for questioning over the management of the Phnom Penh facility.
A ministry spokesman said only that the five had been called in for questioning about “irregularities,” but human rights groups say bribery is a common practice, allowing rich prisoners better treatment.
The head of the prison was removed from his position last month, after a ministry inspection of Prey Sar, which is the main facility for prisoners from the Phnom Penh courts. The head of Banteay Meanchey provincial prison was removed from his post Wednesday.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
The plight of Prey Sar's children
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| A female prisoner holds her baby on her lap at Prey Sar prison on International Children’s Day in 2010. This year, due to stricter rules, photographers and recording devices were not allowed inside the facility. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan) |
Thursday, 02 June 2011
Mom Kunthear and Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post
Sitting under a tree in the courtyard at Prey Sar prison’s Correctional Centre 2, 20-year-old Chav Longdy is counting the days until she can take her 10-month-old daughter, Alita, outside the facility gates to play with other children.
Serving a three-year sentence for robbery, with one year remaining, the young mother hopes to shield her daughter from her early upbringing.
“I won’t tell my daughter that she was born in prison … because I am afraid she will be upset and shy,” Chav Longdy said yesterday. “I will keep it secret forever.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Torture at Prey Sar: Heng Pov
Former municipal police chief Heng Pov is led into the Appeal Court before a hearing on Friday. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)Monday, 03 May 2010
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
DISGRACED former Phnom Penh municipal police chief Heng Pov has accused Prey Sar prison workers of overseeing the torture and beatings of inmates.
Speaking Friday while awaiting an Appeal Court hearing during which he sought to overturn a conviction on attempted murder charges, Heng Pov said he has seen prison guards at the prison “torture” inmates.
“They even ask outsiders to beat the prisoners,” Heng Pov told a Post reporter. “I would like the Ministry of Interior as well as Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng to know about this and look into the problem.”
Heng Pov said he also has evidence demonstrating that prison guards were responsible for the 2008 death of 24-year-old Heng Touch, whose family has long believed he was beaten to death while in custody.
“Heng Touch was beaten to death,” Heng Pov said. “But [authorities] pretended to save him by sending him to hospital and accusing him of committing suicide. I have enough evidence and witnesses.”
At the time, local rights groups and UN officials urged authorities to investigate the death, but prison officials called the claims “an exaggeration” and insisted Heng Touch died while trying to commit suicide.
Despite the allegations, Heng Pov said he believes most guards at Prey Sar are well-behaved; it is only “bad officials” who commit crimes, he said.
Prison officials and government authorities on Friday rejected Heng Pov’s claims.
“What he said is his right,” said Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar prison. “But the fact is, his accusations aren’t true. Prisoners receive healthcare like any other person, even though they have lost their freedom to go into the outside world.”
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak defended prison officials, calling Heng Pov’s claims unacceptable.
“Heng Pov is a prisoner, so prisoners will never say something good about prison officials,” Khieu Sopheak said.
However, rights groups say they believe questions linger over Heng Touch’s death.
“The court has not issued any charges for any suspect yet. It is quiet,” said Am Sam Ath, the senior monitoring supervisor for local rights group Licadho.
“Justice has not been given in this case for the family of the victim.”
And he said that although his monitors have not witnessed in-custody torture or beatings with their own eyes, they have heard many allegations from incarcerated inmates.
“What Heng Pov and the letters we received said about torture are similar,” he said. “So the torture may exist.”
In court on Friday, Heng Pov denied any involvement in a 2005 attack that left an Electricite du Cambodge employee, Kim Daravuth, paralysed, saying he had never even met the victim.
“I did not order, facilitate or execute the plan to kill him,” Heng Pov told the court. “I never knew Kim Daravuth.”
Appeal Court Judge Chuon Sunleng said a decision on the appeal would be handed down on May 20.
Heng Pov has proved to be a controversial figure in recent years. He was widely feared while he was the police chief of Phnom Penh’s municipal police force. Following his arrest in 2006, he was eventually convicted on a slew of charges including extortion, kidnapping and murder, and sentenced to more than 90 years in prison cumulatively.
Before his arrest, Heng Pov said he was the victim of government persecution for what he said were his efforts to speak out about human rights violations and rampant corruption.
But Heng Pov appears to have had a recent change of heart, and has authored a book, released in April, that praises Prime Minister Hun Sen as a skillful leader.
Speaking Friday while awaiting an Appeal Court hearing during which he sought to overturn a conviction on attempted murder charges, Heng Pov said he has seen prison guards at the prison “torture” inmates.
“They even ask outsiders to beat the prisoners,” Heng Pov told a Post reporter. “I would like the Ministry of Interior as well as Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng to know about this and look into the problem.”
Heng Pov said he also has evidence demonstrating that prison guards were responsible for the 2008 death of 24-year-old Heng Touch, whose family has long believed he was beaten to death while in custody.
“Heng Touch was beaten to death,” Heng Pov said. “But [authorities] pretended to save him by sending him to hospital and accusing him of committing suicide. I have enough evidence and witnesses.”
At the time, local rights groups and UN officials urged authorities to investigate the death, but prison officials called the claims “an exaggeration” and insisted Heng Touch died while trying to commit suicide.
Despite the allegations, Heng Pov said he believes most guards at Prey Sar are well-behaved; it is only “bad officials” who commit crimes, he said.
Prison officials and government authorities on Friday rejected Heng Pov’s claims.
“What he said is his right,” said Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar prison. “But the fact is, his accusations aren’t true. Prisoners receive healthcare like any other person, even though they have lost their freedom to go into the outside world.”
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak defended prison officials, calling Heng Pov’s claims unacceptable.
“Heng Pov is a prisoner, so prisoners will never say something good about prison officials,” Khieu Sopheak said.
However, rights groups say they believe questions linger over Heng Touch’s death.
“The court has not issued any charges for any suspect yet. It is quiet,” said Am Sam Ath, the senior monitoring supervisor for local rights group Licadho.
“Justice has not been given in this case for the family of the victim.”
And he said that although his monitors have not witnessed in-custody torture or beatings with their own eyes, they have heard many allegations from incarcerated inmates.
“What Heng Pov and the letters we received said about torture are similar,” he said. “So the torture may exist.”
In court on Friday, Heng Pov denied any involvement in a 2005 attack that left an Electricite du Cambodge employee, Kim Daravuth, paralysed, saying he had never even met the victim.
“I did not order, facilitate or execute the plan to kill him,” Heng Pov told the court. “I never knew Kim Daravuth.”
Appeal Court Judge Chuon Sunleng said a decision on the appeal would be handed down on May 20.
Heng Pov has proved to be a controversial figure in recent years. He was widely feared while he was the police chief of Phnom Penh’s municipal police force. Following his arrest in 2006, he was eventually convicted on a slew of charges including extortion, kidnapping and murder, and sentenced to more than 90 years in prison cumulatively.
Before his arrest, Heng Pov said he was the victim of government persecution for what he said were his efforts to speak out about human rights violations and rampant corruption.
But Heng Pov appears to have had a recent change of heart, and has authored a book, released in April, that praises Prime Minister Hun Sen as a skillful leader.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Horror prison lifts the bar on atrocities
Claims of torture haunt Prey Sar jail
30/11/2009
Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
30/11/2009
Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
The Prey Sar prison which is presently home to Thai spy suspect Sivarak Chutipong and thousands of other Cambodian and foreign inmates is under fresh fire for its "appalling conditions".
The complex - described as one of the most notorious jails in Southeast Asia and often compared with the infamous Tuol Sleng prison under Khmer Rouge rule - has been slammed for alleged human rights violations.
"I've often heard about brutal torture against the prisoners there," said a 25-year-old Cambodian woman.
"It's really scary. I think most Cambodian people know well about its conditions."
Prey Sar is the largest of about 20 prisons in Cambodia. It houses 2,500 to 2,600 prisoners despite being originally designed to house a maximum of 1,200, a prison warder said.
Mr Sivarak, who worked at Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 for relaying information about the flight schedule of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who flew into Phnom Penh a day earlier after being appointed economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Prey Sar, in Dor Kor district about 10km from central Phnom Penh, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior and the Health Ministry.
The public perception of the prison is one of "fear and brutality". It is reportedly cramped and lacking in proper health care.
"We have treated all prisoners well - all the allegations are groundless," said the prison warden.
He said all prisoners had good sleeping arrangements.
If they were ill, the prison provided them with proper medication.
"I have seen and talked to Sivarak. He is healthy. We take care of him very well because we know what is what," the warden said.
It has been more than 10 years since the Cambodian government moved prisoners from the centuries-old jail built during French colonial rule in central Phnom Penh near the Royal Palace complex to Prey Sar.
Prey Sar was a commune and detention centre during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, when more than 1.7 million people lost their lives.
Some say the brutality at Prey Sar is reminiscent of Tuol Sleng, the torture and detention centre also known as S-21 and now a genocide museum.
"Prey Sar is not much different," said 51-year-old Sameth Tul, a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Sameth Tul was 17 when Khmer Rouge soldiers took control of Phnom Penh and later ruled all of Cambodia.
He was living in Takai [KI-Media note: Takeo?] province, south of Phnom Penh, at the time. His family was sent to work in a nearby commune and lived there for nearly four years until the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime.
"Fortunately, no one in my family was killed because we were all farmers," he said.
"Those being killed were doctors, teachers, academics and lawyers.
"I remember the whole experience of when I was locked up in the commune camp," Sameth Tul said.
"I had to get up at 3am and [go to] sleep at 11pm.
"Many people died of torture, and lack of food and sleep."
The complex - described as one of the most notorious jails in Southeast Asia and often compared with the infamous Tuol Sleng prison under Khmer Rouge rule - has been slammed for alleged human rights violations.
"I've often heard about brutal torture against the prisoners there," said a 25-year-old Cambodian woman.
"It's really scary. I think most Cambodian people know well about its conditions."
Prey Sar is the largest of about 20 prisons in Cambodia. It houses 2,500 to 2,600 prisoners despite being originally designed to house a maximum of 1,200, a prison warder said.
Mr Sivarak, who worked at Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 for relaying information about the flight schedule of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who flew into Phnom Penh a day earlier after being appointed economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Prey Sar, in Dor Kor district about 10km from central Phnom Penh, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior and the Health Ministry.
The public perception of the prison is one of "fear and brutality". It is reportedly cramped and lacking in proper health care.
"We have treated all prisoners well - all the allegations are groundless," said the prison warden.
He said all prisoners had good sleeping arrangements.
If they were ill, the prison provided them with proper medication.
"I have seen and talked to Sivarak. He is healthy. We take care of him very well because we know what is what," the warden said.
It has been more than 10 years since the Cambodian government moved prisoners from the centuries-old jail built during French colonial rule in central Phnom Penh near the Royal Palace complex to Prey Sar.
Prey Sar was a commune and detention centre during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, when more than 1.7 million people lost their lives.
Some say the brutality at Prey Sar is reminiscent of Tuol Sleng, the torture and detention centre also known as S-21 and now a genocide museum.
"Prey Sar is not much different," said 51-year-old Sameth Tul, a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Sameth Tul was 17 when Khmer Rouge soldiers took control of Phnom Penh and later ruled all of Cambodia.
He was living in Takai [KI-Media note: Takeo?] province, south of Phnom Penh, at the time. His family was sent to work in a nearby commune and lived there for nearly four years until the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime.
"Fortunately, no one in my family was killed because we were all farmers," he said.
"Those being killed were doctors, teachers, academics and lawyers.
"I remember the whole experience of when I was locked up in the commune camp," Sameth Tul said.
"I had to get up at 3am and [go to] sleep at 11pm.
"Many people died of torture, and lack of food and sleep."
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Poignant testimony of a S-24 survivor: Duch says ready to face justice of people
Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 12/08/2009: Many Cambodians, who came from the countryside, attend Duch’s trial each day (pictured: a villager before an ECCC screen) (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)13-08-2009
By Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set
Mrs Bou Thoeun, a survivor of Prey Sar (S-24), took the stand on Wednesday August 11th to recount the hell she went through and offered a rare moment of intense emotion. She threw her indelible wounds, probably suppressed until then, at the tribunal, reminding each and everyone why it was created and placing the victims back at the heart of Duch’s trial. The accused was not impervious to these outbursts of suffering and anger, and declared he was ready to offer himself to his compatriots’ wrath and accept the punishment they would like to impose on him.
Anlong Korn, a component of Prey Sar
“I suffered a lot because I was beaten. Because I did not manage to do what I was asked to do, I was mistreated. I was between life and death. Only I survived. My daughters and other relatives are dead and I found myself alone after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime.” From the start of her testimony, Mrs Bou Thoeun, who belonged to the “new people,” the “April 17th,” soberly summarised her personal tragedy. Shortly after her husband, carrier at the Ministry of Energy, “disappeared” in 1977, she was sent to Anlong Korn, South from Prey Sar, “in some kind of transit for prisoners before they were divided between different sites.” One month before, she had given birth to a fourth child. The accused later explained that Anlong Korn “was an important office, that is where Huy was stationed, the director of Prey Sar, which included this village.
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Anlong Korn, a component of Prey Sar
“I suffered a lot because I was beaten. Because I did not manage to do what I was asked to do, I was mistreated. I was between life and death. Only I survived. My daughters and other relatives are dead and I found myself alone after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime.” From the start of her testimony, Mrs Bou Thoeun, who belonged to the “new people,” the “April 17th,” soberly summarised her personal tragedy. Shortly after her husband, carrier at the Ministry of Energy, “disappeared” in 1977, she was sent to Anlong Korn, South from Prey Sar, “in some kind of transit for prisoners before they were divided between different sites.” One month before, she had given birth to a fourth child. The accused later explained that Anlong Korn “was an important office, that is where Huy was stationed, the director of Prey Sar, which included this village.
Click to Read More...
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Children's Day at Prey Sar
A young inmate at Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison looks at a prison guard during International Children’s Day celebrations. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)Tuesday, 02 June 2009
Written by May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post
THE RIGHTS group Licadho distributed gifts to 408 minor inmates and 17 children incarcerated with their mothers at Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison Monday to mark International Children's Day.
The inmates were entertained by the popular comedians Tuy and To during an event held Monday morning. Of the 408 incarcerated minors, most of whom are males, 369 were arrested on robbery charges, said prison Chief Chat Sineang.
"It is a shame we have to celebrate International Children's Day in prison, but we must," he said. "These prisoners have done harm to their society, and they must pay for what they have done."
Tham Keng, chief of the Interior Ministry's Prison Correctional Department, said he hoped the presentation of gifts to the inmates would allow them to feel like valued members of society.
"By bringing gifts to the prisoners, Licadho is proving that they do not discrimate against anyone, and that they believe the prisoners can change their bad attitudes," he said.
Licadho representative Ham Sunrit said International Children's Day was being celebrated in 14 of Cambodia's 26 prisons, adding that the celebrations allowed the rights group to highlight concerns about the treatment of minors living behind bars. As of February 2008, there were a total of 50 children living with their mothers in 18 of the prisons that Licadho monitors.
According to its 2007 report, "Prison Conditions in Cambodia: The Story of a Mother and Child", the group's chief concerns include limited access to food and clean water, cell overcrowding, "routine denial of quality medical services" and violence on the part of prison officials and other inmates.
The gift packs distributed Monday included raisins, soy milk, toothpaste, toothbrushes, antibacterial soap, combs, bottled water, bread, fruit and toys.
Sam Sokna, 24, a prisoner at Prey Sar who is serving a six-year sentence for pimping, said she was encouraged by the NGO's visit to the prison.
"This is not the first time they have come," she said. "They always come to give us gifts on Women's Day and for P'chum Ben. These occasions make me feel warm and not hopeless."
The inmates were entertained by the popular comedians Tuy and To during an event held Monday morning. Of the 408 incarcerated minors, most of whom are males, 369 were arrested on robbery charges, said prison Chief Chat Sineang.
"It is a shame we have to celebrate International Children's Day in prison, but we must," he said. "These prisoners have done harm to their society, and they must pay for what they have done."
Tham Keng, chief of the Interior Ministry's Prison Correctional Department, said he hoped the presentation of gifts to the inmates would allow them to feel like valued members of society.
"By bringing gifts to the prisoners, Licadho is proving that they do not discrimate against anyone, and that they believe the prisoners can change their bad attitudes," he said.
Licadho representative Ham Sunrit said International Children's Day was being celebrated in 14 of Cambodia's 26 prisons, adding that the celebrations allowed the rights group to highlight concerns about the treatment of minors living behind bars. As of February 2008, there were a total of 50 children living with their mothers in 18 of the prisons that Licadho monitors.
According to its 2007 report, "Prison Conditions in Cambodia: The Story of a Mother and Child", the group's chief concerns include limited access to food and clean water, cell overcrowding, "routine denial of quality medical services" and violence on the part of prison officials and other inmates.
The gift packs distributed Monday included raisins, soy milk, toothpaste, toothbrushes, antibacterial soap, combs, bottled water, bread, fruit and toys.
Sam Sokna, 24, a prisoner at Prey Sar who is serving a six-year sentence for pimping, said she was encouraged by the NGO's visit to the prison.
"This is not the first time they have come," she said. "They always come to give us gifts on Women's Day and for P'chum Ben. These occasions make me feel warm and not hopeless."
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
One Week Out, Tribunal Readies for Duch Trial
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh
24 March 2009
When the impending trial for Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Kek Iev begins, Cambodians will learn about his role at three prison sites: Tuol Sleng, Cheoung Ek and Prey Sar.
The Khmer Rouge tribunal announced Monday that during three days of hearings, starting 10 am March 30, discussions will center around the creation of Tuol Sleng, known as S-21, as well as a site called S-13, Takmao prison and armed conflict.
“If nothing changes, the trial will be as scheduled,” Judge Nil Nonn, head of the Trial Chamber, told VOA Khmer.
Better known as Duch, Kaing Kek Iev, 66, faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder, for his role as the head of Tuol Sleng and other sites, where at least 12,000 Cambodians were tortured or executed.
His trial will be the first of five jailed leaders of the regime for a tribunal that has been more than 10 years in the making and has weathered much criticism for delays, mismanagement and potential corruption.
The courtroom is expected to receive an audience of 500 people, but those who are interested must file an application of participation. The deadline is Wednesday, March 25.
According to Mao Vutha, who is in charge of registering persons at the tribunal, more than 300 people have so far registered to watch, including aid and development workers, diplomats, students and everyday Cambodians.
The Khmer Rouge tribunal announced Monday that during three days of hearings, starting 10 am March 30, discussions will center around the creation of Tuol Sleng, known as S-21, as well as a site called S-13, Takmao prison and armed conflict.
“If nothing changes, the trial will be as scheduled,” Judge Nil Nonn, head of the Trial Chamber, told VOA Khmer.
Better known as Duch, Kaing Kek Iev, 66, faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder, for his role as the head of Tuol Sleng and other sites, where at least 12,000 Cambodians were tortured or executed.
His trial will be the first of five jailed leaders of the regime for a tribunal that has been more than 10 years in the making and has weathered much criticism for delays, mismanagement and potential corruption.
The courtroom is expected to receive an audience of 500 people, but those who are interested must file an application of participation. The deadline is Wednesday, March 25.
According to Mao Vutha, who is in charge of registering persons at the tribunal, more than 300 people have so far registered to watch, including aid and development workers, diplomats, students and everyday Cambodians.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Jailed for refusing to leave their homes and being poor: Life under Hun Sen's regime
Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 23/08/2007. Hairdressing course for minor inmates at the CC2 section of Prey Sar prison. (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)Poverty behind bars, as experienced by victims of evictions in Cambodia
16-12-2008
By Duong Sokha
Ka-set in English
Click here to read the article in French
Click here to read the article in Khmer
Cramped, overpopulated cells; malnutrition, lack of healthcare services. Prison conditions in Cambodia are appalling. The famous Prey Sar penal institution, located seven miles away from the capital, houses some 2,500 prisoners and operates at more than double capacity – it was originally designed to house no more than 1,200 inmates. Some prisoners find themselves incarcerated because their only crime was to be poor and try and resist forced eviction.
Evicted people: victims on several levels
2008 is coming to an end and more than 10,000 prisoners are currently crammed in Cambodian cells, and among them, more than 600 under-18 inmates and more than 400 foreign detainees. Malnourished and left to look after themselves without any healthcare available on the premises, they are not even allowed to have access to drinking water. Some of these prisoners are poor people who have committed the sole crime of refusing to leave their home. They are being sued on charges of “destruction of other people's property, aggravated assault or infringement of private property rights”, when all they did was showing opposition in front of police forces when their community suffered forced evictions meant to clean up towns of squats and other urban areas said to be anarchical.
Over the past few years, forced evictions have grown in numbers and have been qualified by local and international Human rights NGOs as frequent Human rights violations and represent the most serious plague in the country today. Thousands of families are regularly evicted from their homes to give way to property developers or multinational companies. Massive commercial centres, huge office towers or imposing casinos are built and only benefit a small minority of people in the country, since Cambodia is still classified as one of the world's poorest countries.
Hem Chum, a 47 years-old journalist working at the fortnightly newspaper “The Cry of Justice”, a rather confidential publication, spent two years in prison after being charged for the “destruction of other people's personal property”. In fact, this Cambodian citizen was simply the victim of one out of the many other forced evictions carried out in the country. He was condemned for having stood in the way during a forcible operation of eviction carried out in June 2006 in the district of Chambok Chap, in the heart of Phnom Penh. The compensation offered to the evicted people by the company who bought their grounds – a small piece of land in the village of Andong, about 13 miles away from Phnom Penh in the middle of nowhere – was unacceptable to him.
“I was sent behind bars for two years but I am innocent”, he claimed, still shocked by the whole experience. The only thing I did was to defend my land and decide to follow through on my cause. I ended up in a 16m² cell with no less than ten detainees inside it. There was no ventilation, we suffocated in there and we were so packed together that I could only sleep sideways.
“Gravel in our bowl of rice”
The Cambodian government set to 1,500 riels (0,38 dollar) the daily expenses (food, water, electricity, clothing, medicine...) for one prisoner. A prisoner typically receives 0,55 kg of rice per day. “This is not enough”, Hem Chun insisted. “We must top up our ration with what our family send us. There was a period of time when we even found gravel in our rice. Healthcare was limited to Paracetamol. Once, I suffered from acute sinusitis and asked to get treatment outside of the prison, unsuccessfully”. In 2007, 60 cases of death among prisoners have been reported. Between January and September 2008, the figures amount to 37 people, according to the report issued by the Cambodian Prisons Department in September 2008.
The land question was at the heart of the December 10th Human Rights Day celebrated by a coalition of 19 local NGOs. The march they organised in the centre of Phnom Penh was attended by 2,000 members of the civil society, diplomats, monks, students and victims of evictions. All of them sported a “Human rights: our rights” tee-shirt. Under the close surveillance of the authorities, they called with insistence for the liberation of the people who are still in prison and urged the government to stop the evictions and arrests linked with land conflicts.
Some fifty people are still said to be behind bars for having defended their home during land disputes.
Rights still flouted
Kek Galabru, president of the Cambodian league for the promotion and protection of Human rights (LICADHO) did not hesitate to criticise the dreadful conditions that prisoners have to endure. “In order to know if a country respects Human rights or not, you only have to take a look at their prisons. If prisoners' rights are not taken into consideration, this means that the country is not willing to respect Human rights”, the campaigner detailed.
Samkol Sokhan, deputy director general of the General Prisons Department at the Ministry of Interior, has for his part a different perspective on things. “This is the maximum that the state can ever do. Even our prison warders only earn between 160,000 and 200,000 riels (US$40 to US$50) per month. I often advise our civil servants to look after detainees and make sure their rights are respected”, the official said, pointing out that the Ministries of Interior and Health were working together on the question of medicine. He added that a new correctional facility should soon be opened in the province of Pursat, with a view to regulate overpopulation in cells. The Ministry of Interior is still waiting for the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture on that matter - the latter owns the 960-hectare piece of land - and will then launch building works.
This article was published on the Tribune des droits humains website on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th, 2008.
Evicted people: victims on several levels
2008 is coming to an end and more than 10,000 prisoners are currently crammed in Cambodian cells, and among them, more than 600 under-18 inmates and more than 400 foreign detainees. Malnourished and left to look after themselves without any healthcare available on the premises, they are not even allowed to have access to drinking water. Some of these prisoners are poor people who have committed the sole crime of refusing to leave their home. They are being sued on charges of “destruction of other people's property, aggravated assault or infringement of private property rights”, when all they did was showing opposition in front of police forces when their community suffered forced evictions meant to clean up towns of squats and other urban areas said to be anarchical.
Over the past few years, forced evictions have grown in numbers and have been qualified by local and international Human rights NGOs as frequent Human rights violations and represent the most serious plague in the country today. Thousands of families are regularly evicted from their homes to give way to property developers or multinational companies. Massive commercial centres, huge office towers or imposing casinos are built and only benefit a small minority of people in the country, since Cambodia is still classified as one of the world's poorest countries.
Hem Chum, a 47 years-old journalist working at the fortnightly newspaper “The Cry of Justice”, a rather confidential publication, spent two years in prison after being charged for the “destruction of other people's personal property”. In fact, this Cambodian citizen was simply the victim of one out of the many other forced evictions carried out in the country. He was condemned for having stood in the way during a forcible operation of eviction carried out in June 2006 in the district of Chambok Chap, in the heart of Phnom Penh. The compensation offered to the evicted people by the company who bought their grounds – a small piece of land in the village of Andong, about 13 miles away from Phnom Penh in the middle of nowhere – was unacceptable to him.
“I was sent behind bars for two years but I am innocent”, he claimed, still shocked by the whole experience. The only thing I did was to defend my land and decide to follow through on my cause. I ended up in a 16m² cell with no less than ten detainees inside it. There was no ventilation, we suffocated in there and we were so packed together that I could only sleep sideways.
“Gravel in our bowl of rice”
The Cambodian government set to 1,500 riels (0,38 dollar) the daily expenses (food, water, electricity, clothing, medicine...) for one prisoner. A prisoner typically receives 0,55 kg of rice per day. “This is not enough”, Hem Chun insisted. “We must top up our ration with what our family send us. There was a period of time when we even found gravel in our rice. Healthcare was limited to Paracetamol. Once, I suffered from acute sinusitis and asked to get treatment outside of the prison, unsuccessfully”. In 2007, 60 cases of death among prisoners have been reported. Between January and September 2008, the figures amount to 37 people, according to the report issued by the Cambodian Prisons Department in September 2008.
The land question was at the heart of the December 10th Human Rights Day celebrated by a coalition of 19 local NGOs. The march they organised in the centre of Phnom Penh was attended by 2,000 members of the civil society, diplomats, monks, students and victims of evictions. All of them sported a “Human rights: our rights” tee-shirt. Under the close surveillance of the authorities, they called with insistence for the liberation of the people who are still in prison and urged the government to stop the evictions and arrests linked with land conflicts.
Some fifty people are still said to be behind bars for having defended their home during land disputes.
Rights still flouted
Kek Galabru, president of the Cambodian league for the promotion and protection of Human rights (LICADHO) did not hesitate to criticise the dreadful conditions that prisoners have to endure. “In order to know if a country respects Human rights or not, you only have to take a look at their prisons. If prisoners' rights are not taken into consideration, this means that the country is not willing to respect Human rights”, the campaigner detailed.
Samkol Sokhan, deputy director general of the General Prisons Department at the Ministry of Interior, has for his part a different perspective on things. “This is the maximum that the state can ever do. Even our prison warders only earn between 160,000 and 200,000 riels (US$40 to US$50) per month. I often advise our civil servants to look after detainees and make sure their rights are respected”, the official said, pointing out that the Ministries of Interior and Health were working together on the question of medicine. He added that a new correctional facility should soon be opened in the province of Pursat, with a view to regulate overpopulation in cells. The Ministry of Interior is still waiting for the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture on that matter - the latter owns the 960-hectare piece of land - and will then launch building works.
This article was published on the Tribune des droits humains website on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th, 2008.
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