The Cambodian government has transferred an imprisoned Cambodian American human rights advocate Seng Theary to a jail in Phnom Penh where she can more easily communicate with her legal team, according to her lawyer. She was relocated one day after the U.S. government told Prime Minister Hun Manet that it would reinstate $18 million in aid to Cambodia.
“While she has been in Phnom Penh it has been easy to contact her,” said her defense attorney Sam Chamroeun, after her move from a facility in the northern province of Preah Vihear to Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar Prison.
In June 2022, Theary was convicted for plotting and incitement to overthrow the government along with dozens of other former members of the outlawed opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). They were found guilty after campaigning for the return of exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy in 2019.
“The United States has and will continue to engage with the Cambodian government on the case of detained U.S.-Cambodian dual national Seng Theary,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said, adding that the embassy was aware of her transfer and deferring questions to Theary’s lawyer and Cambodian authorities.
On September 23, the Cambodian Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement following Hun Manet’s meeting with U.S. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, stating that the U.S. “had decided to resume” $18 million in assistance extended to Cambodia that had been paused following the July election.
The reversal comes two months after the U.S. government announced that it had “implemented a pause of certain foreign assistance programs” in response to Cambodian authorities engaging in harassment against the political opposition, media and civil society ahead of the election. The statement also said the elections were “neither free nor fair.”
The State Department decided to reinstate the aid “to encourage the new government to live up to its stated intentions to be more open and democratic and to work more closely with us on shared priorities,” according to a department spokesperson, as well as because “these programs benefit the Cambodian people.”
The State Department informed the Cambodian government of the aid reinstatement in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. The department did provide a response when asked what had changed between the State Department’s July 23 statement on the pause in aid and the reversal this month.
“Of course we still have concerns about the elections, which we’ve conveyed clearly,” the spokesperson stated. “In conjunction with resuming these programs, we again call on the new Cambodian government to make progress on democracy and human rights issues, including restoring a free and independent media and allowing all Cambodians a voice in the governing process.”
Since Hun Manet has taken office, CamboJA News has reported on Candlelight party officials charged with incitement and the sentencing of Candlelight Party Co-Vice President Thach to 18 months in prison.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at the rights group Licadho, said he believed Theary’s move was related to the U.S. reversal on aid.
“The reason for the transfer of Seng Theary is due to the meeting between the Prime Minister and the U.S acting deputy secretary of state [Victoria Nuland] where [the U.S.] reinstated $18 million in aid to Cambodia,” he said.
He welcomed the relocation of the prominent human rights advocate, as the prison in Cambodia’s capital is more convenient for her family and friends to visit.
“Transferring her is a good thing, but what we want to see is the new government release Seng Theary and other political activists whose arrests [the public] considers unreasonable and politically motivated,” he said.
Last year Theary was quietly transferred to the Preah Vihear prison following her conviction. In a comment to CamboJA at the time, another one of her lawyers, Choung Choungy, questioned how he would be able to meet with her for legal consultations now that she was far from the capital.
In June a United Nations report declared that Theary was being detained in violation of international law and called for her release. And in July, she went on a 10 day hunger strike, calling for her freedom and the freedom for all Cambodian people. She lost five kilograms in the process, according to her lawyer Jared Genser.
General Prison Department spokesperson Nouth Savna confirmed that Seng Theary arrived at Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh on September 23.
“It was a decision of the leaders. I only work on technical issues, and if you want to clearly know please ask the Royal Government spokesperson,” Savna said in response to a CamboJA reporter asking why Theary was moved.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona declined to comment and referred questions to the General Prison Department.
Additional reporting by Seoung Nimol and Leila Goldstein.
Update: This story was updated on October 3 at 10:45 a.m. ICT to include comments received from the U.S. State Department after publication.
