Statement: Intimidation and death threat in Boeung Kak 1

Phnom Penh, 30 October 2013 - The Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) condemn the brutal intimidation that were used in the past days against three families involved in a land dispute with the Khun Sear Import Export Company, in the Boeung Kak 1 area in Phnom Penh.

In the past two days, employees from the Khun Sear Company perpetrated many acts of harassment, intimidation and attempts of harms on the three families residing on a disputed plot of land in the Sangkat Boeung Kak 1. On the afternoon of the 28 October 2013 several men disturbed the peaceful business of M. Ly Srea Kheng and his wife by chasing away the potential customers. The same day, employees from the same Company threatened the families about killing their pets and, later at night, M. Ly Srea Kheng’s two dogs and Mrs. Sok Houch’s cat were poisoned and dropped in front of the houses. Moreover, chemical supposed to be insecticide were sprayed on one of the house.

During the night of 30 October 2013, at around 1:30 AM, M. Ly Srea Kheng discovered a man running from the main building. After inspection, he found that poisonous cobras were dropped near the wall of the houses. The residents caught two of the deadly snakes and killed one.

Bringing several dangerous snakes in the houses of urban poor families is more than an act of intimidation; it’s a death threat showing the intent to kill and should never been used and mostly not as tool to try to win over a land dispute.

These barbarous actions are recalling the previous and continuous coercion and violence made by worker hired by Khun Sear Import Export Company. Since May 2013, the residents had their property destroyed, their business demolished, their physical security threatened and violated, their water pipes and electricity cut off as well as five of their pets killed. No real actions were ever taken by the local authorities against the perpetrators.

The HRTF and CHRAC are strongly condemning these continuous attempts of intimidation, violence and death threats against three families, residing legally for decades on their plot of land in Boeung Kak 1. The HRTF and CHRAC call on the judicial authorities to take appropriate and quick sanctions against the perpetrators in order to ensure the fulfillment of the Government’s duty to protect the security of its citizens.

More information, please contact:

Mr. Suon Bunsak, Executive Secretary, CHRAC;           Tel: 092 344357

Mr. Sia Phearum, Secretariat Director, HRTF;               Tel: 060313451

Denial of Release Pending Appeal Highlights Political Interference in the Cambodian Court System

March 27, 2013 - LICADHO, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Equitable Cambodia (EC), and Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC) express their deep disappointment at the Supreme Court’s failure to release Boeung Kak land rights activist Yorm Bopha on bail. Bopha’s request was heard this morning by the Supreme Court, while some 100 community activists from Boeung Kak and other communities under threat of eviction rallied outside. Bopha’s young son and her husband Lous Sakorn were also among the crowd. 

Although the hearing itself finished at around 9am, the crowd waited until almost midday in sweltering heat for the ruling. The Supreme Court then denied bail, citing the seriousness of Bopha’s conviction and the lack of evidence of health problems.

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes as no surprise. Just over a week before Bopha’s appearance at the Court, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly stated in a televised speech that her case had nothing to do with land issues and that she instead had acted “violently and unjustly in the eyes of the government”. In a judicial system renowned for its political obedience, it's impossible to see the Prime Minister's comment as harmless.

Bopha has now spent 204 days in jail since her initial detention in early September 2012. On December 27, 2012, she was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on the trumped up charge of intentional violence with aggravating circumstances following a trial in which no incriminating evidence was provided against Bopha.

“Bopha is not the one to have acted unjustly here,” said Eang Vuthy, Representative of Equitable Cambodia. “Back at the Municipal Court in December 2012, no testimony was presented in support of her guilt. Not a single witness, whether from the prosecution or the defence, at any point stated Bopha had engaged in violent actions. The victims’ witnesses provided inconsistent and doubtful testimonies, while the defense witnesses’ testimonies were convincible but simply ignored.”

“The procedural and substantive flaws in Bopha’s original trial were so dramatic, so blatant, that it’s impossible to conclude that this conviction isn’t politically motivated,” said LICADHO Director Naly Pilorge. “How else do you explain a conviction for ‘intentional violence’ against a person who never laid a finger on anyone?” 

Following reports of the ruling, the crowd outside expressed their anger by burning a scale of justice replica, before marching to the Royal Palace to call for the Cambodian King to intervene in the case. 

“Releasing Bopha on bail would have been the right thing to do,” said Ee Sarom, Programme Coordinator at STT. “She’s the mother of a young child and the wife of a man who, following a recent beating by the police, is now unable to work. More than anything however, all the evidence points to that she is innocent and that her continued imprisonment is a form of legal persecution due to her land rights activism.”

The denial of bail for Bopha comes just a week before her fellow Boeung Kak community activist Tep Vanny is due to be honored by US Vice President Joe Biden and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC. She is one of five honorees to receive the 2013 Global Leadership Award conferred by the organization Vital Voice. Vanny will take the stage on April 2 together with other human rights luminaries including Pakistan’s Malala Yousafsai and Brazil’s Sandra Gomes Melo. 

LICADHO, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, Equitable Cambodia, and Community Legal Education Centre call on the judiciary to set the date for Yorm Bopha’s hearing at the Appeal Court, and an end to political interference in this case, and more generally the court system.

For more information, please contact:
• Ee Sarom, Programmes Coordinator at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, +855 12 836 533 
• Am Sam Ath, Technical Supervisor at LICADHO, +855 12 327 770 
• Eang Vuthy, Representative of Equitable Cambodia, +855 12 791 700 
• Moeun Tola, Head of Labour Program at CLEC, +855 66 777 056

Statement: Regrets the Unfair Judgment on Boeung Kak Lake Residents

STATEMENT

“CHRAC Regrets the Unfair Judgment on Boeung Kak Lake Residents”

Phnom Penh, 27 December 2012

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)—a coalition of 21 NGO members—is so disappointed at the decision today by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to sentence Ms. Yorm Bopha, a land and housing rights activist and former Boeung Kak Lake resident, to three years in prison.  Her husband, Lous Sakorm, was convicted of the same crime and handed a three year suspended sentence, while her two brothers, Yorm Kamhong and Yorm Seth, were tried in abstentia, and handed three year sentences pending their arrest after a warrant was issued today. The four have each been ordered to pay 30 million Riels in compensation, a total of $15,000 for both victims.  The trial was marked by irregularities, while the integrity of the decision is seriously undermined by the lack of evidence presented at the court.  Instead, the conviction of Yorm Bopha highlights the judicial harassment faced by activists willing to oppose the authorities and powerful private companies in the pursuit of their land rights.

Background

On 04 September 2012, Yorm Bopha, a popular Boeung Kak community representative, was accused of assaulting a suspected thief – allegations she has denied. She was detained at Prey Sar prison for more than 100 days until her trial on 26-27 December 2012, at which she was handed a 3 year sentence and a large fine, under Article 218 of the Penal Code (“intentional violence with aggravating circumstances”).

Yorm Bopha played a central role in the Boeung Kak Lake residents’ campaign to protect their homes and gain adequate compensation after the government leased their land to development firm Shukaku Inc. She was also at the forefront of the campaign for the release of 15 female former lake residents who were detained arbitrarily in May 2012 following a peaceful protest. Yorm Bopha has refused to be silenced, despite reporting on a number of occasions that she has faced intimidation and harassment by authorities, and the long sentence handed to her and the hefty fine cannot be divorced from her activism.

The Trial

The judicial process against Yorm Bopha has been flawed from the beginning, when she was arrested one month after the crime was alleged to have been committed, and then questioned without a lawyer present. During the trial, the judge failed to take into account the argument presented by the defense, instead relying on evidence that was flimsy to say the least.

Three of the witnesses called to testify against Yorm Bopha told contradictory accounts of the events. It was later apparent that two of the witnesses could not be sure who Yorm Bopha or her husband was, only that they had seen both men and women at the incident. It also emerged that one witness had gone for dinner that evening, but could not recall who with due to his state of inebriation, but could however recall that Yorm Bopha was present at the incident. With such grounds for reasonable doubt, the conviction of Yorm Bopha and prison sentence she has received calls into question the competence of the Cambodian judiciary.

Conclusion

CHRAC calls on the higher courts to overturn the judgment of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in order to release her freely, in case her appeals are to be lodged. In a striking juxtaposition between the judicial treatment of rich and poor, Chhouk Bandith, the former Bavet City governor, saw charges dropped against him by Svay Rieng provincial court citing insufficient evidence this week in a case whereby he was accused of shooting 3 protesters at a strike outside a garment factory in February. This was despite numerous witness accounts and his alleged confession of the incident. The detention of Yorm Bopha, convicted on exceptionally weak evidence in a case that must be seen in light of her activist work, serves to demonstrate that justice in Cambodia is the preserve of the rich and powerful, while poorer Cambodian who stand up for their rights can expect harassment and imprisonment as a matter of course.

For more information, please contact:

·         Mr. Sok Sam Oeun      Executive Director of CDP                            Tel: 012 901 199

·         Mr. Ny Chakrya          Head of Monitoring Section, ADHOC         Tel: 011 274 959

·         Mr. Neil Loughlin        Technical Assistant, ADHOC                       Tel: 092 648 318

·         Mr. Suon Bunsak         Executive Secretary of CHRAC                    Tel: 092 344 357