CAMBODIA: Independentradio station director arrested and charged

Paris-Geneva, July 17, 2012. The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT), is gravely concerned about the serious charges pressed against Mr. MamSonando, Director and Owner of the FM station 105 ( Beehive Radio), one of thefew independent media outlets in Cambodia. Mr. Sonando is also known for hiscriticisms of the Government's human rights record and his denunciation of landevictions.

Mr. Sonando was abroad when the arrest warrant was issued and hereturned to Cambodia on July 12, 2012. In the morning on July 15, the policearrested Mr. Mam Sonando at his home in Phnom Penh. On July 16, he wasformally charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court under six articles under thePenal Code.[1]Each of these charges carries long prison terms. The presiding judge denied Mr.Sonando’s application for bail, ignoring the fact that Mr. Sonando voluntarilyreturned to Cambodia despite the serious accusations levelled against him,which seems to indicate he has no intention to flee. He is now in pre-trialdetention in CC1 prison in Phnom Penh.

Mr. Sonando is 70-year-old and holds both Cambodian and Frenchcitizenships. He is also the president of the Democrats Association, anon-governmental organisation duly registered with the Ministry of Interiorwith a mission to advocate for democratic freedoms and to raise awareness ofcivil and political rights.

The latest charges stem from accusations by the government that Mr.Sonando was responsible for instigating villagers inhabiting an area offarmland in Kratie province marked for development by the Russian companyCasotim, which has been granted a 15,000 hectare economic land concession. OnMay 16, the government sent in hundreds of armed security personnel, supportedby helicopter, to evict the villagers, killing Heng Chantha, a 14-year-oldgirl, during the crackdown. Government officials later justified the operationby claiming the villagers, some of whom are members of the DemocratsAssociation, were part of an attempt to secede from Cambodia. The authoritieshave so far failed to initiate an investigation into the military siege and thekilling of Heng Chantha. Authorities have also failed to release any evidenceof the so-called secessionist movement.

On June 22 2012, Mr. Sonando was in the Hague, the Netherlands, to coverthe presentation of a communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) containing allegations of crimes againsthumanity committed by the Cambodian government. The communication was submittedby the Khmer People Power Movement (KPPM), which is headed by prominentgovernment critic Sourn Serey Ratha. On June 22, the ICC acknowledged inwriting the receipt of KPPM’s communication. Mr. Sonando’s report onKPPM’s communication to the ICC wasbroadcast by Beehive station on June 25. A day later, on June 26, PrimeMinister Hun Sen urged in a nationally broadcasted public speech that Mr.Sonando be arrested for masterminding “a plot to overthrow the government andattempting to establish a state within a state”. No evidence has been presentedto substantiate this claim.

“Thebaseless charges against Mam Sonando are the latest examples of the Cambodiangovernment’s tendency to intimidate critical voices, in particular human rightsdefenders, and flaunt its human rights obligations under the domestic andinternational law”, said Debbie Stothard,FIDH Deputy Secretary-General.

Mr. Sonando has been imprisoned twice before. In 2003, he served twoweeks in prison after being charged with giving "false" informationand inciting people to commit crimes and to discriminate, in connection to atelephone call made to a program broadcast by Beehive radio in January 2003. In2005, he was again arrested and imprisoned for three months on charges ofincitement and defamation for giving an interview over the radio in whichcriticism of a border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam was discussed.

The Observatory calls on the Cambodian authorities to drop all chargesagainst Mam Sonando and release him immediately and without conditions, as hisdetention is arbitrary and the judicial proceedings against him appear to beaimed at sanctioning the exercise of his legitimate right to freedom ofexpression, protected by both the Cambodian Constitution and the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Cambodia has ratified.

“Insteadof making peaceful speech a crime, Cambodia should be investigating wrongfulacts by state agents in cases involving excessive use of force against thoseprotesting against widespread land-grabbing and other human rights abuses”, urged Ms. Stothard.

For further information, please contact:

FIDH: Karine Appy / Arthur Manet: +33 1 43 55 25 18

OMCT: Isabelle Scherer: + 41 22 80949 39

[1] Article 28 defines the crime ofinstigation of felony or a misdemeanor (felony is punishable by lifeimprisonment or by more than five years but no more than 30 years, while a finemay also be imposed in addition to imprisonment; a misdemeanor is punishable byimprisonment between six days to five years, while a fine may also be imposedin addition to imprisonment); Articles 456 and 457 define the crime ofinsurrectionary movement (punishable by imprisonment from seven to 15 years);Article 464 defines the crime of inciting people to take up arms against stateauthority (punishable by imprisonment from 15 to 30 years if effective);Article 504 defines the crime of obstruction of public officials (punishable byimprisonment from six months to one year and a fine from one million to twomillion Riels); Article 609 defines the crime of unlawful interference in thedischarge of public functions (punishable by imprisonment from one to threeyears and a fine from two million to six million Riels).