The Regional Court of Appeal has dropped the charges against activist Chhorn Phalla in Ratanakiri province last week for allegedly clearing state forest land, as opposition party Candlelight urged the new government to release its party members and other prisoners of conscience, who were allegedly detained on politically motivated charges.
Phalla was sentenced to six years imprisonment in July 2022 but the Regional Court of Appeal in Tboung Khmum decided to remove the charge on October 4, 2023.
In a separate case, Phalla was sentenced to five years imprisonment for clearing state forest land, but the Regional Court of Appeal removed that charge in July 2022. He was arrested in September 2021, according to his lawyer Sam Tithseiha.
“[The Regional] Court of Appeal has rendered a judgment [which] states that I am not guilty,” Phalla told CamboJA on Monday after his release on October 6.
He plans to continue fighting against the destruction of natural resources and forests despite Ratanakiri provincial court “wrongly” finding him guilty of forest crime.
“I will continue to help communities protect the environment, especially [illegal] forest land clearing. I will not hesitate,” Phalla said. “I am not afraid anymore as I was innocent when I was imprisoned.”
Defense lawyer Sam Tithseiha, in welcoming the higher court’s decision to drop all charges against his client, said the acquittal reflects a good pattern where judgments are being made based on laws and factual evidence.
However, Tithseiha is concerned with another one of Phalla’s cases relating to charges of incitement and defamation filed by the local authorities in July 2020. “That case is going to trial but the court has not scheduled a date yet,” he said.
Political analysts and civil society groups view that the recent acquittals started after the restoration of the $18 million aid by the US government to Cambodia, which was frozen as the US found that the recent general election was neither free nor fair. The resumption of the aid resulted in the transfer of dual citizenship Cambodian American human rights advocate Seng Theary to a jail in Phnom Penh after she was secretly moved to a prison in Preah Vihear province last year.
The turnaround in court decisions was also evident in the granting of bail to two land activists, one of them Phav Nhoeung, who were arrested in Koh Kong province.
Nhoeung, who was released on bail on Friday last week, told CamboJA that she would carry on advocating land rights and fight for her community until the authorities issue land titles.
“I will definitely not stop protesting if my land has no land title and I will continue even if the charges against me are not dropped. There can be no solution when they arrest victims, who have lost their land, and detain them in prison,” Nhoeung said.
Nhoeung was arrested in June with 10 other activists, who participated in a protest to deliver a petition calling for land title issuance. She was charged with defamation and incitement and sentenced to one year imprisonment in August.
Meanwhile, Candlelight has called on the new government to release all prisoners of conscience in light of the Pchum Ben festival, read its statement posted on Sunday.
Political analyst Meas Nee said Cambodia’s situation is not just related to issues of geopolitics, human rights and democracy but is also linked to the economy.
“If these issues [human rights and democracy] are unresolved, it will impact the economy,” he said, noting that Cambodia exports travel goods and garment products to the United States and European markets.
“The Cambodian government should think about the benefits of keeping Seng Theary [in prison],” Nee said.
“As we have known in Cambodia, when they say it is a political issue, the government rejects them, [but] when a political resolution is reached in less than 24 hours, [every matter] can be resolved [immediately].
“So, it is difficult to forecast as law and political issues are inseparable in Cambodia,” Nee said, as per his observation of both Cambodia and US governments “shaking hands”, followed by the reversal of foreign aid to Cambodia.
Candlelight spokesperson Kimsour Phearith said politicians, who were found guilty due to political issues, should be released as the current political situation “cannot cause chaos” as the election was over.
“The Candlelight party can’t join the election. The [politicians] are being detained in prison because they had established the Candlelight party platform,” he said.
“I want the government to reconsider restoring the political environment as well as promoting freedom of space to engage in politics and speak freely,” Phearith said.
Separately, government spokesperson Pen Bona said there are no political prisoners in Cambodia.
“There are prisoners or politicians who are involved in wrongdoing, but no political prisoners,” he said, adding that the release of prisoners happens when sentences are reduced or they receive a royal pardon and in accordance with the Interior Ministry’s General Department of Prisons.
“In Cambodia, there is separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judiciary, so the procedure of who is guilty rests with the court. It does not involve the government,” Bona said.
“Our democracy and human rights are free, no one can do anything if everyone obeys the law … but if they violate the law, the [authorities] can take legal action. This is not related to restricting rights, freedom of expression or press freedom,” he said.
A senior investigator at rights group Adhoc, Soeng Senkaruna found that there is “little change” regarding release of land and forest activists.
“We have seen a small change but it is not enough to believe that we have rights and freedom of space because several political activists are still in prison,” he said.
Freedom of expression, as stipulated in the constitution, should not restrict those activities, Senkaruna added.
Candlelight Party was disqualified from participating in the July national election for not providing a 1998 party registration document. It is facing the same challenge in its bid to participate in the Senate election, which will happen in February next year.
Interior Minister spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said the ministry had issued a registration after the 2017 raid of the headquarters of Cambodia National Rescue Party, Candlelight’s predecessor, but Candlelight had “lost” the document instead.
“[I] do not respond to this party [Candlelight]. I am not the spokesperson of that party, I am a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry,” he said, when asked to comment.
(Additional reporting by Runn Sreydeth)
