The Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations dismissed the comments made by UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan who urged the government “to review the charges” of the 10 Mother Nature environmental activists as it was “highly prejudicial” against the integrity of Cambodia’s judiciary.
The activists, including Spanish national Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, were sentenced to six and eight years’ imprisonment by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for insulting the King and plotting to overthrow the government.
Gonzalez-Davidson, as well as Sun Ratha and Yim Leanghy were convicted to eight years in prison and fined 10 million riel or $2,500 each .
Cambodia’s Permanent Mission to the UN released a press statement on Wednesday stating that the court’s decision was based on concrete evidence and strictly adhered to due process and principle legality.
“The environmental activists were charged not because they were exercising their rights and freedom, but for plotting against the government and insulting the King,” read the statement.
The claim that the proceedings lacked compliance with international human rights standards was “baseless”, the mission mentioned in response to the UN spokesperson, adding that the latter’s call to “amend” relevant articles of the Criminal Code was “misleading”.
The mission said the activists’ offenses were committed in Cambodia between 2012 and 2021, and punishable under Articles 437 and 453 of the Criminal Code.
On July 2, the UN spokesperson expressed grave concern over the charges including lèse majesté and “harsh sentencing” of the environmental activists by the Cambodian authorities which allegedly penalized them for exercising their human rights.
“We call for the case to be reviewed on appeal in line with international human rights law. We also urge the authorities to review the charges brought against these environmental activists, particularly in relation to six of them who were minors at the time the acts were allegedly committed,” Al-Kheetan said.
The UN also urged Cambodia to hold broad-based public consultations to amend relevant articles of the Cambodian Criminal Code to bring them into conformity with international human rights law.
Five of the Mother Nature activists have been jailed in five different provincial prisons, which worried their families over the defendants’ safety and health.
Pat Raksmey, the wife of Thon Ratha, told CamboJA News that the activists’ lawyers were in the process of preparing the paperwork to appeal the decision made by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which she said was “unjust”.
“If we look at the questioning and the evidence [which was produced] against the five [activists], there was no specific evidence [to connect them] to treason or conspiracy,” Raksmey said, adding that the separation from the families was traumatic for them and the activists.
The mother of two lives in Kandal province, which is far from the Tboung Khmum prison where Ratha was currently serving his six-year sentence. She said she would have to spend between 300,000 and 400,000 riel for the trip and to buy supplies for him.
She tried to see her husband at the Trapeang Phlong prison on July 4, but authorities did not allow her to meet him because she did not bring their family book and marriage certificate. She only managed to pass some food to him.
“I experienced a hard time when he went [to jail] the first time but it will be harder the second time [as the sentence was] heavier than before. We’ve two sons and the youngest is only six months old, so I have to support the family,” Raksmey said.
She said when Ratha was arrested the first time in September 2020, their eldest son was six months old. Ironically, the second arrest also occurred just as their second son turned six months.
In May 2021, Ratha was convicted on an incitement charge which resulted in him being imprisoned for 20 months with four other activists for co-planning a one-woman march to raise awareness of the impact of filling in lakes in the capital.
“I urge national and international organizations which support human rights to monitor the case and urge the government as well as the courts to drop the charges as they are innocent,” Raksmey said.
NGO rights group Licadho operations director Am Sam Ath said it was common for the government to deny a UN expert’s statement on human rights restrictions.
“Normally, the state has its own defense […] address the problems. It is the right of the state,” he said.
However, what was interesting about the case to him was that he saw local and international organizations, and Western countries raising concerns over Cambodia’s alleged restrictions on fundamental freedoms, especially freedom of expression. “Human rights experts see the arrests as detrimental to the rights and freedoms of our citizens,” he said.
Sam Ath confirmed that lawyers have met with the five defendants and will appeal the verdict as soon as possible.
Defense lawyers Sam Chamroeun and Ly Socheatra declined to comment.
(Additional reporting by Khuon Narim)
