Two opposition party members, serving at the commune council level, have been arrested and charged with incitement and public document forgery, bringing the total number of opposition members arrested in recent months to five.
The legal action against them has been decried by an opposition leader and a civil rights activist, calling it a form of “intimidation” and “persecution” of the opposition.
Deouk Chhan, deputy commune councilor of Candlelight Party in Phnom Penh, was arrested when he appeared at the police station on June 3. On the same day, Nation Power Party member Doem Keang was arrested in Kampong Speu province.
Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson Sam Vichhika declined to comment, referring to their statement on June 4 that Chhan’s arrest was related to the forgery of public documents — which follows a complaint by Leng Vanndy. The police denied the arrests were politically motivated.
“The arrest of the suspect was carried out according to the Criminal Code, and is not related to politics, intimidation or persecution of political party members,” read the statement.
Two of Candlelight Party’s deputy commune council chiefs, Kan Kun and Mao Hen, were arrested on March 16 in Kampong Cham province, while Khmer Will Party’s Mut Rin, a district councilor, was nabbed on March 17. Hen has been released as there was no evidence of any wrongdoing, a party official confirmed.
On January 28, Takeo police arrested Phan Sarath, deputy chairman of Daun Keo Municipal executive committee of Nation Power Party, for allegedly inciting chaos to disrupt social security, spreading false information with the intention to incite, leading to discrimination against the leadership, and harming national security.
Candlelight Party secretary-general Ly Sothearayuth said they are closely monitoring the arrests. “The party does not know the reasons for their arrests yet, but we believe the continued detention of members is an act of intimidation against party activists.”
“This will affect the democratic process, particularly the rights of citizens and their freedom to engage in politics,” Sothearayuth said. He urged the relevant authorities, especially the courts, to release their members and activists who have been unjustly imprisoned.
Leng Vanndy could not be reached for comment.
Sothearayuth said Vanndy, who was candidate number 11 in the 2022 commune election list, later joined Nation Power Party.
It is learnt that Deouk Chhan requested Vanndy to place his thumbprint on a resignation letter so that his successor would be able to replace a deceased person named Som Houn.
Human rights group LICADHO operations director Am Sam Ath said the continued arrests of opposition leaders have been criticized by national and international communities.
“I have observed that these [legal actions] are affecting political freedoms, especially targeting and persecuting opposition activists,” he said.
Sam Ath noted that the most common charges against opposition members and activists are “incitement to disturb social order” and “forgery of public documents”.
Government spokesperson Pen Bona stressed that opposition parties “need to take responsibility for breaking the law”.
“If there are no mistakes, no one will get arrested,” he said. “I appeal to opposition parties to learn to accept their mistakes, and not to continuously say that everything is politically motivated.”
Neither Ruling Cambodian People’s Party spokesperson Sok Eysan nor Chea Mony, president of Nation Power Party, could be reached for comment.
