In landmark decision, UN body declares the detention of five human rights defenders arbitrary #FreeThe5KH

OnNovember 21, 2016, the WGAD ruled that the ongoing detention of Mr. Ny Chakrya, DeputySecretary-General of the National Election Committee (NEC), and four staffmembers of the CambodianHuman Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Messrs. NySokha, Yi Soksan, Nay Vanda, and Ms. Lim Mony, was“arbitrary.”

Following asubmission made by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders(OMCT-FIDH partnership), the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Cambodian League for thePromotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) in June 2016, the WGAD’s Opinion No. 45/2016 ruled that the five human rightsdefenders (HRDs) “have been discriminatedagainst based on their status as human rights defenders, and in violation oftheir right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law underarticle 26 of the ICCPR.” This is the first time ever that the WGAD - orany other UN mechanism receiving individual complaints - has referred to HRDsas a protected group that is entitled to equal legal protection under Article26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Theruling also recognised the violation of the five HRDs’ “rights to offer andprovide professionally qualified legal assistance and other relevant advice andassistance in defending human rights.”

In addition, the WGAD found that the targeting ofADHOC staff members for having provided “legitimatelegal advice and other assistance” violated the five HRDs’ right to freedomof association. It ruled that violations of fairtrial rights (including the fact that the five were denied legal counsel fromthe beginning of their questioning), unjustified pre-trial detention, andstatements made by the Cambodian authorities which denied the five thepresumption of innocence - all of which contravene Cambodia’s internationalhuman rights obligations in respect to the right to a fair trial - are alsoserious enough to consider their ongoing detention as arbitrary.

TheWGAD concluded that “the deprivation ofliberty of Ny Sokha, NayVanda, Yi Soksan, Lim Mony and Ny Chakrya, being in contravention ofarticles 7, 9, 10, 11 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights andof articles 9, 10, 14, 22 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights, is arbitrary.”

“We welcome this landmark Opinion adopted by the Working Group, and nowcall upon the Cambodian authorities to act on the ruling and immediatelyrelease Ny Chakrya, Ny Sokha, YiSoksan, Nay Vanda, and Lim Mony and drop all charges against them,” declared our organisations today.

The five humanrights defenders have now been in pre-trial detention on charges of bribery for 234 days since theirarrest in April 2016. Their deprivation of liberty infringes on bothinternational human rights law and Article 205 of Cambodia’s Criminal ProcedureCode, which sets out the conditions under which provisional detention can be ordered.On November 30, 2016, the Supreme Court upheld a previous decision adopted bythe Court of Appeals on June 13, 2016 to refuse to release the five HRDs onbail. On November 28, 2016, the Court of Appeals upheld the extension of thepre-trial detention for another six months and refused to close theinvestigation. All five detainees are being held alongsideconvicted criminals, contrary to Article 10(2)(a) of the ICCPR, and Article 26of Cambodia’s Law on Prisons.

On September 22, 2016, the Phnom Penh MunicipalCourt convicted Mr. Ny Chakrya on charges of defamation, maliciousdenunciation, and publication of commentaries intended to unlawfully coercejudicial authorities and sentenced him to six months in prison. The chargesstemmed from a criminal case dating back to the time when he was Head of theHuman Rights Section at ADHOC. Mr. Ny Chakrya’s conviction was upheld by theCourt of Appeal on December 14, 2016.

“These cases bear all the hallmarks of politically-motivated harassment of humanrights defenders because of their legitimate human rights activities, and are illustrative of the Cambodian Government’s deliberate effort to eliminate all dissentingvoices. We urge the Cambodian authorities to stop the harassment of all humanrights defenders in the country,” concluded our organisations.

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The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to interveneto prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders.OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

TheCambodian Human Rights and Development Association(ADHOC) is a non-governmental, independent and non-partisan human rightsorganisation founded in 1991, which promotes and protects human rights inCambodia by means of its 24 provincial offices and its headquarters in PhnomPenh. ADHOC’s Human Rights and Legal Aid Section, Land and Natural ResourcesSection and Women and Children’s Rights Section monitor the human rightssituation on the ground, intervene in case of violations, provide assistance tovictims of rights violations - including free legal aid, and engage inempowerment activities.

The Cambodian Center forHuman Rights (CCHR), founded in November 2002, is a non-aligned, independent,non-governmental organisation that works to promote and protect democracy andrespect for human rights throughout Cambodia.

The CambodianLeague for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), established in1992, seeks to protect and promote civil, political, economic and social rightsin Cambodia through advocating for the rights of Cambodian people andmonitoring human rights abuses from its main office in Phnom Penh and 13provincial offices.

For more information, please contact:

• OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: Tel: +41 22 809 49 39; E-mail: dr[at]omct.org
• FIDH: Arthur Manet / Audrey Couprie: Tel: + 33143552518; E-mail: press[at]fidh.org
• CCHR: Chak Sopheap: Tel: +855 11 943 213; E-mail: chaksopheap[at]cchrcambodia.org / Pat de Brún: Tel: +855 (0) 89 536 215; E-mail: pat.debrun[at]cchrcambodia.org
• LICADHO: Naly Pilorge, Tel: +855 12 803 650; E-mail: advocacy[at]licadho-cambodia.org