As Night Editor at the Cambodia Daily, I ran the layout process every night and lead a team of four in designing and proofreading the whole newspaper. I helped lead the design process for our final issue after the newspaper was forced to close due to government pressure.
LATEST UPDATES: CNRP LEADER KEM SOKHA ARRESTED FOR 'TREASON' →
CNRP President Kem Sokha and opposition spokesman Yim Sovann ride atop a truck during commune election campaign, in a photograph posted to Mr. Sokha’s Facebook page.
6:45 p.m.: Hing Soksan, the head of the CNRP’s youth wing, said he narrowly escaped arrest this evening as plainclothes police officers swarmed his home in Phnom Penh.
Speaking to reporters by telephone while fleeing his house at around 6 p.m., Mr. Soksan declined to say where he was going, saying only that he was heading somewhere safe.
“The police are raiding my house,” he said. “Now I escaped through the other door…. I cannot say anything about my whereabouts or my house location.”
Kem Monovithiya, the CNRP’s deputy head of public affairs, confirmed the incident but said it was unclear why the youth leader was being threatened with arrest.
1:18 p.m.: The opposition’s meeting to discuss the arrest of its leader is over, but the party would not divulge what—if anything—it has decided to do.
“Any party that harms free and fair elections, please take responsibility yourself and face the international community,” CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua said as she left party headquarters.
Ms. Sochua would not answer questions about the party’s plans, or who could replace Kem Sokha, who has been arrested over accusations of treason, if it came to that.
12:15 p.m.: CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann has left a meeting of party leaders in a rush without speaking to reporters.
The opposition party had been discussing at party headquarters what steps to take after the arrest of its leader, Kem Sokha, overnight.
Earlier, CNRP lawmaker Real Camerin spoke in support of Mr. Sokha before entering the meeting, saying, “My boss, Kem Sokha, never said anything about color revolution. Never told us about a plan to topple the government. Not at all.”
“Kem Sokha, our leader, never wants to make war. I myself have already experienced war. Who wants to experience war again? Why? He wants us to be peaceful and stay calm,” Mr. Camerin said.
11:09 a.m.: “Troops are mobilizing around the city of Tbong Khmum and they’re heading to CC3,” said Ly Heng, an executive committee member for the CNRP in Tbong Khmum province.
The party’s supporters in the province are now gathering to form a plan about what to do, Mr. Heng said.
10:11 a.m.: Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights chairman Charles Santiago has called the arrest of Kem Sokha overnight “alarming,” and an attempt to “crush” and “cripple” the opposition in Cambodia.
“If members of the international community, including and especially donors, fail to speak up and take action now, they risk ending up complicit in Cambodia’s descent into outright dictatorship,” Mr. Santiago said in a statement.
“The arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha early this morning takes the ongoing crackdown by the ruling party in Cambodia to an alarming new level. With national elections on the horizon, it is clear that this is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to crush the opposition before the campaign even starts. For months, we have been witnessing the escalation of government attempts to cripple the opposition, but it appears now that Prime Minister Hun Sen is so afraid of what might happen in a genuine vote, he won’t allow for competition at all,” Mr. Santiago added.
“Kem Sokha’s arrest is a blatant violation of parliamentary immunity protections under the Cambodian constitution and an affront to the rule of law. He should be immediately and unconditionally released.”
9:40 a.m.: CNRP politicians have started to arrive at party headquarters in Phnom Penh amid ongoing confusion about their leader’s situation, and have questioned whether he was actually moved out of the capital as the Interior Ministry has stated.
Lawmaker Ho Vann told reporters that “it is not confirmed whether or not he is at Correctional Center 3 in Tbong Khmum…. Only Khieu Sopheak said that,” referring to the ministry spokesman.
Mr. Sokha’s daughter Kem Monovithya also tweeted that according to her “reliable source,” her father could still be detained in Phnom Penh.
Mr. Vann added that eight bodyguards had been arrested alongside Mr. Sokha.
7:57 a.m.: Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Kem Sokha had been moved to Correctional Center 3 Prison in Tbong Khmum province at about 1 or 2 a.m. He would not explain why Mr. Sokha had been moved from Phnom Penh, saying it was the courts’ decision.
“The court has the right to decide whatever they can,” General Sopheak said.
Gen. Sopheak added that Mr. Sokha had not yet been charged—“only accused,” he said.
He said Mr. Sokha’s parliamentary immunity did not apply in this case because it was “an on-the-spot arrest,” and authorities had the right to hold him for 72 hours before taking further action.
7:40 a.m.: CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua said party leaders would meet “sometime this morning” to plan the next steps following party president Kem Sokha’s arrest. When asked if the party and its supporters planned to demonstrate against the arrest, Ms. Sochua would only say that the party had already put out a statement condemning it.
“At the moment the top level of CNRP will be meeting this morning, because it all happened very suddenly,” she said.
2:05 a.m. (updated 4:45 a.m.): Cambodia’s opposition leader Kem Sokha has been arrested for “treason” following a raid on his house overnight Sunday, according to a government statement and opposition officials, a move immediately slammed as a “disastrous setback” for human rights and democracy.
The CNRP party president was arrested at his house in the Toul Kok area of Phnom Penh at 12:35 a.m. on Sunday, the statement said.
The government said it had evidence linking Mr. Sokha to a secret plot to “harm” the country, according to the statement released on government mouthpiece Fresh News.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia informs that according to a video clip broadcast on CBN (Cambodian Broadcasting Network) in Australia and other evidence collected, it clearly shows secret plans of a conspiracy between Kem Sokha, others and foreigners to harm the Kingdom of Cambodia.”
“The above act of this secret conspiracy is treason,” added the statement.
The government appealed to people to remain calm and allow the court and police to proceed, it said.
Article 443 of the Criminal Code states that “conspiracy with [a] foreign power”—defined as “having [a] secret agreement with a foreign state or its agents, with a view to fomenting hostilities or aggression against the Kingdom of Cambodia”—is punishable by imprisonment from 15 to 30 years.
The move follows weeks of increasing political tensions, as American democracy NGO the National Democratic Institute was expelled from the country and more than a dozen radio stations carrying content from the opposition and U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia and Voice of America were shut down.
Ten months ahead of a crucial national election, the government has now appeared to have set its sights on the CNRP, the most formidable opponent the ruling party has faced in years. If Mr. Sokha is convicted of a crime, the opposition party could be dissolved under amendments to the Political Party Law that were passed earlier this year and have already forced former party president Sam Rainsy out of politics.
The CNRP issued a statement early Sunday morning condemning the arrest, saying it was “politically motivated” and violated the Constitution.
“The arrest was made in the middle of the night, while Mr. Kem Sokha still has assembly immunity,” the statement said.
“The CNRP appeals to the authorities to unconditionally release Mr. Kem Sokha and ask the international community to intervene for the release, and for the end to intimidation and oppression by police authorities against the CNRP and its officials,” it added.
CNRP Vice President Eng Chhay Eang earlier wrote on his Facebook page that the arrest of Mr. Sokha was a “serious situation for Cambodia,” while Mr. Sokha’s daughter, Kem Monovithya, the CNRP’s deputy director of public affairs, tweeted at 12:35 a.m. that her father’s house was being raided by police.
“Kem Sokha and all bodyguards are taken away by 100-200 police without warrant after they raided his home,” she tweeted.
She later tweeted that he had been handcuffed after “police raided and vandalized his home.”
“Kem Sokha whereabouts is still unknown,” she said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s middle son, Hun Manith, said in a tweet that “Kem Sokha betrayed Cambodia.”
“He confessed to have long term plans with the United States of America…,” said the tweet. “Thank[s] to him, we now know who was (is) the Third Hand…”
Mr. Sokha’s party colleagues were left in shock at the news of their leader’s arrest.
“I never expected this to happen. It is a shock. It will shock the world too,” said CNRP lawmaker Ou Chanrath.
“It could be a misunderstanding. We need to really communicate internally at the national level among our Khmer leaders for the peace and stability of our country.”
Rights groups quickly added their voices to concern at the sudden arrest of Mr. Sokha.
John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, described it as “a disastrous setback for Cambodia’s human rights situation.”
“The government’s charges lack credibility, given its long record of misusing its legal system to silence or intimidate critics and political opponents,” said Mr. Sifton in a statement. “For 33 years, Hun Sen has used violence, threats, corruption, and bogus legal charges to stay in power, and in the last year has been intensifying his attacks on civil society and the political opposition.”
Mr. Sifton called on Cambodia’s allies and donors to condemn “this latest attack on democracy, and summon Cambodian ambassadors abroad to explain their government’s actions.”
“The international community, which provides a major percentage of the Cambodian government’s annual budget, should put Hun Sen on notice that if he doesn’t reverse course, it will be impossible to consider next year’s elections free and fair,” he added.
*I contributed significant reporting and assisted other reporters in covering this major news event on September 3, 2017, the last full day of operation for the Cambodia Daily before it was forced to close by the government: https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/nrp-leader-kem-sokha-arrested-treason-134249/
‘PERVERSE’ WATCHDOG NEEDS A LEASH: NGOS
Thida Khus, executive director of Silaka, speaks to the media in front of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) headquarters yesterday after being questioned. Thida Khus, executive director of Silaka, speaks to the media in front of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) headquarters yesterday after being questioned. (Photo: KT/Mai Vireak)
By TAING VIDA and JONATHAN GREIG
Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officials and anti-terrorism police continued to grill rights workers for a second day yesterday, following a marathon session on Wednesday that lasted until 11 pm over allegations they told the alleged mistress of opposition leader Kem Sokha, Khom Chandaraty, to lie about their relationship to police.
Three rights workers – Ny Sokha, Yi Soksan and Nai Vonda – were brought back to the ACU offices at 8 am yesterday for further questioning along with three new ones: Adhoc’s Lim Mony, National Election Committee deputy secretary-general Ny Chakrya and Silaka director Thida Khus. The ACU tried to bring in UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights officer Sally Soen, but Mr. Soen has immunity as a UN employee. Ms. Khus said she spent three hours at the ACU, 40 minutes of which were spent in the interrogation room, before being allowed to leave. The other five were still at the ACU late last night and according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, they were to be detained overnight.
Despite her release, Ms. Khus said she was still afraid of being arrested. “I have done nothing wrong. I do not know what kind of situation Srey Mom [is in] so I can’t say if I’m angry at her or not since I’m here just to say what happened between me and her,” she said outside of the ACU. She added that she had only advised Ms. Chandaraty about her rights during the brief time they spoke.
Ms. Chandaraty had sought assistance from NGOs after audio tapes of intimate conversations – allegedly between her and Mr. Sokha – were posted online. Initially, she denied the female voice on the tapes was hers, but later admitted it was and claimed that the NGO staff she had sought help from told her to lie to police who questioned her about the tapes.
Civil society groups have spent the week criticizing the ACU for questioning and detaining human rights workers, with some opposition party members saying the graft-busting agency has descended into using Khmer Rouge-style tactics.
Twenty-seven civil society organizations signed a joint statement condemning the interrogations yesterday, saying it “amounts to an outrageous misuse of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) as a political tool to attack and intimidate civil society.”
“The aggressive pursuit of this investigation demonstrates that the ACU’s priorities lie not in tackling endemic corruption, but in abusing its mandate to suppress civil society and target opposition figures,” the statement said.
“It is grossly inappropriate for this body to selectively apply criminal law to civil society and critics of the government. Cambodia is perceived as the most corrupt country in Southeast Asia; in this context, it is perverse but unfortunately unsurprising that the institution supposed to combat corruption is instead being used as a political tool to harass those working to promote human rights.”
The statement questioned the need for anti-terrorism police in this case and asked why the ACU decided to interrogate and prosecute a wide swathe of people with little to no connection to the original case involving Ms. Chandaraty.
“Hauling in civil society members who are only tangentially connected to the case is just another example of Cambodia’s flawed criminal justice system, in which the scales are weighted heavily against not only critics of the government, but also those who support them,” said Naly Pilorge, the director of Licadho.
The organizations cited recent statements by government officials, including one by ruling party spokesman Sok Eysan backing the decision to place two of ACU president Om Yentieng’s sons in senior positions within the ACU.
Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said, “Civil society in Cambodia is coming under sustained attack, and this situation is becoming more severe as we approach the election period. But these tactics of intimidation will not work. We stand united in the face of this intimidation.”
KEM SOKHA SACKED AS VICE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Prime Minister Hun Sen attended a session at the National Assembly Friday morning. (KT Photo: Ven Rathavong)
The CPP-dominated National Assembly (NA) sacked key opposition figure Kem Sokha as deputy leader of the Assembly in a legally-disputed vote that was boycotted by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
“According to the vote, I would like to announce that Kem Sokha has been removed as National Assembly vice president during the assembly session on October 30,” NA President Heng Samrin said following the vote this morning. All 68 CPP members voted in favor of the measure to remove Mr. Sokha.
The NA session was only supposed to involve votes on the upcoming commune election and internal NA rules, but early this morning, three CNRP members of the permanent committee fought the inclusion of the vote against Mr. Sokha to the agenda to no avail. The CPP holds the majority of seats on the permanent committee.
NA spokesman and CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun said the CPP was waiting for the CNRP to select a new vice president. He denied reports and statements from members of his own party that Mr. Sokha was removed because of the violent protests against him, instead claiming that they made the move because “it was necessary to protect the culture of dialogue and agreement.”
Despite Article 87 of the Constitution, which states that NA presidents or vice presidents can only be replaced in the event of a death or resignation, the CPP defended the legality of the move.
“Mr. Sokha was promoted by the CPP, so he can be removed by the CPP based on an absolute majority vote,” Mr. Vun said.
CNRP members and the party itself have released statements slamming the action, claiming it directly violates the Constitution and the political agreement between both parties.
“55 CNRP lawmakers could not join the NA session today which violated the Constitution and the political agreement between both parties,” the statement read.
CNRP lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang said the CNRP wanted to have a meeting with the CPP before they submitted a new candidate for vice president.
“If we don’t talk with each other clearly, it will be useless to promote a new candidate,” Mr. Chhay Eang said, adding that the CNRP’s members plan to wait for party president Sam Rainsy to return from Europe before they nominate anyone to replace Mr. Sokha. He said the party will continue to boycott the NA if the Constitution continues to be violated by the ruling party.
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with ambassadors from a number of countries, as well as the EU and UN, this afternoon to quell fears of another political stalemate similar to the one that ended in July of last year.
Mr. Sokha is also deputy leader of the CNRP. Tensions between the government and the opposition dramatically heightened this week when CPP-aligned groups held a protest against Mr. Sokha that turned violent. After protests against him in France last weekend, Prime Minister Hun Sen promoted the protest against Mr. Sokha a day before it occurred.
Two CNRP lawmakers were dragged out of their cars during the protest and beaten as they exited the NA during a lunch break. Both have been sent to a private hospital in Bangkok with multiple broken bones and other injuries.
Mr. Sokha himself said in a statement yesterday that he is afraid to return to the country after protesters threw rocks at his house for six hours during the protests against him while his wife stayed locked inside calling the police to no avail.
CNRP LAWMAKERS FILE COMPLAINT OVER ATTACK
Lawmaker Kong Sophea is pictured here in a hospital in Bangkok where he is being treated for his injuries. (Facebook)
Lawyers for two opposition lawmakers attacked last month outside the National Assembly filed a formal complaint against their alleged attackers yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, jump-starting the investigation into an attack that some observers have claimed was orchestrated by the government.
The complaint is signed by Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers Nhay Chamroeun and Kong Saphea, who are continuing to receive treatment at a Bangkok hospital.
It brings new charges against the three suspects who turned themselves in last week. The complaint accuses the men of aggravated assault, property damage, and attempted murder. Together, the crimes carry a possible sentence of 35 years in prison. The two lawmakers are also requesting $25,000 in compensation each.
Sam Sok Kung, a lawyer representing them, said that the new, more serious charges make it likely that it will take more time for the case to go to trial. It may be between four and six months before the suspects go on trial, he said.
The three suspects – soldiers Chay Sarith, Mao Hoeurn, and Soth Vanny – have been detained at Prey Sar prison. They confessed last week to participating in the attack, videos of which has been circulating online. Mr. Chamroeun and Mr. Saphea were dragged from their vehicles and beaten, following an anti-opposition party rally. In the videos police can be seen nearby. The videos also show a large group of attackers, who remained in the area after the anti-opposition protest moved to the home of CNRP vice president Kem Sokha. Only the three suspects who turned themselves in have been arrested so far.
Meas Cheanpiseth, a deputy prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said that the investigation is ongoing. Among other witnesses, the police have also brought the two legislators’ drivers to court for questioning, he said, declining to comment further.In their complaint, the two lawmakers urge the government to cast a wider net. Mr. Kung called for speedier justice. “The court has to speed up the process,” he said. “They need to conduct an unbiased investigation, and bring the suspects to trial.”