The arrest of a Candlelight Party member in Bangkok last Friday was related to his activism against the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), a National Police spokesperson said.
When asked over Telegram what had led to the activist’s arrest, National Police spokesperson Chhay Kimkhoeun said: “You do not have to ask about that. What all the activists do, you already know. Just look at his messages [Facebook posts], he was arrested because of that.”
Kimkhoeun did not respond to phone calls or further questions over Telegram from CamboJA.
The detained activist, Thol Samnang, had posted provocative anti-CPP Facebook posts earlier this month, according to Candlelight’s Kandal province party chief Ly Mengkheang.
Samnang’s mother Chet Leak, who lives in Kandal province’s Prek Koy commune, said police came to look for Samnang on July 3, just two hours after he made a Facebook post with a red X drawn over a photo of CPP supporters. Samnang ran away from his house after hearing police arrive, she said.
Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher on Thailand from Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in an email that HRW, UN agencies and other human rights groups have raised concerns with Thai authorities that Samnang “could be in grave danger if deported to Cambodia.”
Samnang is currently being held in Suan Plu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, he said.
“Under international law and Thailand’s recently enacted anti-torture and enforced disappearance law, sending a person to face persecution is prohibited—either by means of deportation (as per inmigration law) or extradition (as per Thailand-Cambodia agreement),” Phasuk said.
Phasuk added that Samnang has been granted access to lawyers and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
After police came to his home last week, Samnang went to Phnom Penh to ask the Candlelight party for support and then traveled to Poipet city on the Cambodia-Thailand border, Samnang’s mother said. She received social media messages from him saying he was safely across the border, but she said she stopped getting messages after a few days because he was arrested by Thai authorities.
Samnang’s family is now worried about his safety, as police came to their house on Sunday and told Samnang’s father about the arrest without stating the reason, according to Leak. Police officials took a photo of Samnang’s father and are still monitoring the house, she said.
“I am worried if Thai authorities send him back to Cambodia, they [Cambodia authorities] will handcuff him,” she told CamboJA on Monday. “[Cambodian authorities] are tired of chasing [Samnang]. The hunters are all from the criminal police station, dressed in civilian clothes.”
Government spokesperson Phay Siphan and CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan both said on Monday, when reached by phone, that they had not received any information about this case yet, despite the fact that Siphan received a Telegram message from CamboJA several days ago and Eysan was informed by CamboJA via phone call on Saturday.
CamboJA has reported on the more than 200 opposition activists who have fled to Thailand since 2017. Some have been deported to Cambodia despite being recognized as refugees by the UN.
“Quite clearly, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and key officials are turning up the heat against anyone who dares criticize government policies or questions the upcoming election, which Human Rights Watch believes will be neither free nor fair,” said HRW Deputy Director of Asia Pacific Phil Robertson in an email. “Thailand should refuse to participate in Phnom Penh’s efforts at transnational repression against opposition political activists.”
