Suspended sentences and release of land rights activists Sim Somnang, Tri Sovikea and San Mala

KHM 004 /1115 / OBS 094.1

Judicialharassment / Release

Cambodia

July 4, 2016

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, has received newinformation and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation inCambodia.

New information:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources, including the CambodianCenter for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion andDefense of Human Rights (LICADHO), about the suspended sentences and subsequentrelease of Messrs. Sim Somnang, Tri Sovikea, and San Mala, members of the organisationMother Nature, a local environmental group known for its efforts to stopillegal sand dredging and the construction of a hydropower dam in Koh KongProvince.

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According tothe information received, on July 1, 2016, Judge Min Meakra of the Koh KongProvincial Court convicted Messrs. Try Sovikea, Sun Mala and Sim Samnang with“threatening to cause destruction, defacement or damage followed by an order”under Articles 28 and 424 of the Criminal Code. These charges were broughtafter the three environmental activists were arrested last year amid an ongoingcampaign to end alleged illegal sand dredging in Koh Kong (see backgroundinformation).

Messrs. TrySovikea, Sun Mala and Sim Samnang were sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment andthe payment of a two million riel (about US$500) fine as well as a 100 millionriel (about $25,000) compensation payment to the sand dredging companyDirect Access. The company hadinitially brought a criminal complaint against the three[1]. As their10 months and 15 days' pre-trial detention was considered time served and theremainder of the sentence was suspended, the three were released in theafternoon of July 1.

Throughoutthe trial, little or no evidence of their guilt was presented. The defendants’ legal team told the court thatthe only evidence relied on by the prosecution were inconclusive video clipsand witness testimonies from several individuals who were not present at thescene of the alleged crime. One key prosecution witness who was on site gave atestimony that contradicted his own earlier written witness statement. Inaddition, despite the fact that the three activists were initially chargedunder Article 424 of the Criminal Code only, Judge MinMeakra changed the chargesat the last minute to convict the three as instigators to the principal offenceunder Article 28 of the Criminal Code. Such last-minute changeconstitutes a denial of the three activists’ right to prepare an adequate legaldefence, in violation of their right to a fair trial.

TheObservatory welcomes the release of Messrs. Try Sovikea, Sun Mala and SimSamnang but strongly condemns their conviction and the arbitrary detention andjudicial harassment to which they were subjected, which only aimed atsanctioning their legitimate human rights activities.

Theconviction of activists involved in high-profile cases and their release onsuspended sentences has become an often-used tactic by the Cambodianauthorities to criminalize legitimate activism. Accordingly, the Observatorycalls on the Cambodian authorities to put an end to all acts of judicial harassmentagainst all human rights defenders in Cambodia.

Background information:

On August17, 2015, Messrs. Sim Somnang, Tri Sovikea and San Mala were arrested in AndongTeuk over their involvement in protests that took place on July 26-28 and August 12, 2015 againstDirect Access, a company registered in Cambodia, which has been accused ofillegally dredging sand in Koh Kong Province and causing extensive damage to the environment andlivelihood of local communities in the region. On August31 and September 21, 2015, the Koh Kong Provincial Court and the Court ofAppeals in Phnom Penh respectively denied bail to the three defenders.

Moreover, Mr. AlejandroGonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish citizen and the Director of Mother Nature, wascharged as an accomplice to the same alleged offense, despite living overseassince he was deported from Cambodia on February 23, 2015[2].

Messrs. SimSamnang, Tri Sovichea, and Sun Mala were held in pre-trial detention in KohKong provincial prison since their arrest - amounting to 11 days longer thanthe legal pre-trial detention limit of 10 months.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Cambodia urgingthem to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical andpsychological integrity of Messrs. Sim Samnang, Tri Sovichea and Sun Mala, aswell as of all human rights defenders in Cambodia;

ii. Put an end to acts of harassment - including atthe judicial level - against Messrs. Sim Samnang, Tri Sovichea, Sun Mala and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson,as well as against all human rights defenders in Cambodia so that they are able to carry out theirwork without hindrance or fear of reprisals;

iiii. Comply with all the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its Articles 1, 12.1 and 12.2;

iv.Guarantee in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and otherinternational and regional human rights instruments signed or ratified by theKingdom of Cambodia.

Addresses:

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

· Mr.Sar Kheng, Minister of Interior, Kingdom of Cambodia. Fax: + 855 23 212708

· Mr.Ang Vong Vathna, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Kingdom of Cambodia.Fax: + 855 23 364 119

· Mr.Prak Sokhon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Cambodia. Fax: + 855 23216 144 / 855 23 216 141 Email: mfaic@mfa.gov.kh

· Mr.Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: +855 23 882 065,Email: leewood_phu@nida.gov.kh/ info@pressocm.gov.kh

· Mr.Keo Remy, President of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, Office of thePrime Minister, Kingdom of Cambodia, Fax: +855 12 81 37 81 / +855 23 21 11 62or +855 23 88 10 45 (c/o Council of Ministers)

· Mr.Bun Hun, President of the Cambodian Bar Association, Fax: +855 23 864 076,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 alsowrite to the diplomatic representations of Cambodia in your respectivecountries.

[1] Direct Access, a company that had alicense to dredge for sand in the Andoung Toek estuary, accused Try Sovikea,Sun Mala and Sim Samnang of intentionally damaging its property duringdemonstrations against the company during which the three had boarded a barge(see background information).

[2]See Observatory Urgent Appeal KHM 001 /0215 / OBS 013, issued on February 24, 2015.