Conviction and sentencing of Mother Nature Cambodia activists Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy

Sentencing /

Arbitrary detention

Cambodia

January 26, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) andFIDH, has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in thefollowing situation in Cambodia.

Newinformation:

The Observatory has been informed aboutthe conviction and sentencing of Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy, two members of the environmental grassrootsorganisation ‘Mother Nature Cambodia’, for filming suspectedillegal sand dredging activity in Koh Kong Province.

Dem Kundy and Hun Vannak leaving Koh Kong provincial court on 26 January 2018. (c) Licadho

According to the information received, on January 26,2018, Koh Kong Provincial Court’s JudgeKeo Sokha convicted the two environmental rights defenders ofcharges of “violating privacy” (Article 302 of the Criminal Code) and“incitement to commit a felony” (Article 495), respectively, and sentenced eachof them to one year in prison, with a seven-month suspended sentence, and a 1million riel (approximately 200 Euros) fine. Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy have been in pre-trial detention sinceSeptember 12, 2017 and areexpected to be released on February 12, 2018.

The PrekSvay Prison is severely overcrowded, has deplorable sanitary conditions, andlacks basic provisions such as water, food, and medical care. Messrs. HunVannak and Doem Kundy are reportedly detained in an extremely cramped 4x4-metercell, which houses up to 20 other inmates.

Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy were arrested on September 12, 2017in Kiri Sakor District, Koh Kong Province, after they filmed two large vessels conducting suspectedillegal sand dredging activities off the coast of Prek Ksach Commune, Koh KongProvince (see background information). On October 3, 2017, the Koh KongProvincial Court denied their bail motion. The sentence of the twodefenders was delivered a day after their trialbegan at the Koh Kong Provincial Court on January 25, 2018.

The Observatory strongly condemns thesentencing and ongoing arbitrary detention of Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy,which only aim at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities.The Observatory calls on the Cambodian authorities to immediately andunconditionally release Messrs. Hun Vannak andDoem Kundy and to put an endto all acts of harassment against them and all human rights defenders inCambodia.

Background information:

On September 12, 2017, Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy were arrested off the coast of Koh Kong Province and taken to Koh Kong provincial police headquarters for questioning. They had been on a small speedboat andjust finished filming two large vessels that they suspectedwere about to carry silica sand for export. The video was to be used to askprominent businessman and rulingCambodian People’s Party (CPP) Senator Ly Yong Phat[1],who owns the company that operates the nearby Special Economic Zone (SEZ) fromwhere the sand had been extracted, why the ships appeared not to be broadcasting an AutomaticIdentification System signal. The lack of such signal meant that the ship didnot appear on online ship tracking databases. The police were reportedly acting in response to a complaint issued bythe company KirisakorKoh Kong SEZ, under the control of Ly Yong Phat, which claimed thatthe activists were filming “inside the company’s private land”.

On September 13, 2017, Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy were interviewed bythe Koh Kong Prosecutor withouta lawyer present. The Koh Kong Provincial Court subsequently charged them with “incitementto commit a felony” (Article 495 of the Criminal Code) and “violation ofprivacy (recording of a person’s image)”(under Article 302).

Their arrestcame just two days after ‘MotherNature Cambodia’ posted an online video exposing huge discrepancies in silica sand trade figures with Taiwan,highlighting more than US$30 million in undocumented and potentially illegalexports. Mother Nature Cambodia’ hasrepeatedly sought to expose discrepancies in sand trade figures betweenCambodia and third countries, including India and Singapore, which wouldindicate large-scale sand smuggling. The Observatory believes that this video might be the real reason forthe arrest of Messrs. Hun Vannak andDoem Kundy.

The two defenders weresubsequently placed in pre-trial detention in Prek Svay prison,Khmerak Phumin city, Koh Kong province.

OnOctober 3, 2017, their bail motion, which was submitted on September 28, 2017,was denied.

The Observatory recalls that several ‘Mother NatureCambodia’ members have faced legal action and havebeen harassed and imprisoned for campaigning against illicit sanddredging in Koh Kong Province[2].

Moreover, on September 15, 2017, ‘Mother NatureCambodia’ was pressured into de-registering following the harassment of itsdirectors by the Cambodian authorities.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Cambodianauthorities asking them to:

i. Guarantee in allcircumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy, as well as of all humanrights defenders in Cambodia;

ii. Immediatelyand unconditionally release Messrs. Hun Vannakand Doem Kundy, as well as all detained human rightsdefenders in Cambodia, as their detention is arbitrary since it only aimsat punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities;

iii. Put an end toall forms of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy and all human rightsdefenders in the country so that they are able to carry out their work withouthindrance;

iv. Comply with all theprovisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adoptedby the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular withits Articles 1 and 12.2;

v. Guarantee the respect ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the UniversalDeclaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instrumentssigned or ratified by Cambodia.

Addresses:

· Mr.Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Fax: +855 23 360666 / +85523 880624 (c/o Council of Ministers), Email:leewood_phu@nida.gov.kh / cppparty@gmail.com

· Mr.Sar Kheng, Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom ofCambodia. Fax: +855 23 212708

· Mr.Ang Vong Vathna, Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Fax: +855 23364 119

· Mr.Prak Sokhon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Fax: +85523 216 144 / +855 23 216 141, Email: mfaic@mfa.gov.kh

· Mr.Keo Remy, President of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, Fax: +855 12 81 3781 / +855 23 21 11 62 or +855 23 88 10 45 (c/o Council of Ministers)

· Mr.Suon Visal, President of the Cambodian Bar Association, Fax: +855 23 864076, Email: info@bakc.org.kh

· AmbassadorMr. Ney Samol, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the UnitedNations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 788 77 74, Email: camemb.gva@mfa.gov.kh

Please also write to thediplomatic representations of Cambodia in your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris, January 26, 2018

Kindly inform us of any actionundertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 bythe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of thisprogramme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human RightsDefenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contactthe Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Teland fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29 Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] Senator Ly Yong Phat is the Presidentof the L.Y.P group and has been mentioned in a large number ofland-grabbing and other human rights violations allegations.

[2] See Observatory UrgentAppeal KHM 004/1115/OBS 094.1, published on July 4, 2016, as well asUrgent Appeal KHM 001/0617/OBS065, published on June 16, 2017.