Global rights watchdog accused of ignoring local legal proceedings
Son Chhay (left), vice president of Candlelight Party and prominent Cambodian opposition politician, walks out of Phnom Penh Municipal after hearing the verdict convicting him of defamation for criticizing the country's June local elections, on Oct. 7. (Photo by AFP)
The Cambodian government has rejected a report by the global rights watchdog CIVICUS which accused the long-ruling regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen of ongoing violations of basic rights that continue to shrink the state of civic freedoms in the country.
Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin dismissed allegations of “political harassment” and called for Cambodian authorities to halt the persecution of activists, trade unionists, the opposition and others and end all restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
“They have not studied the actions of those political activists who have been subjected to judicial action under Cambodian law, their [activists] actions are criminal and not an exercise of rights,” he told the pro-government Khmer Times.
The report also highlighted the ongoing “politically motivated criminal” charges against former members of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which has resulted in hundreds of people being rounded up and charged with incitement or treason.
It noted that Son Chhay, vice-president of the Candlelight Party, was charged with defamation after he criticized the June 5 commune elections, Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the National Election Commission (NEC).
On Friday, Son Chhay was found guilty of defamation by Phnom Penh Municipal Court and ordered to pay the CPP $750,000 in damages and fined a further $4,250 after he “excessively exaggerated and accused the CPP and NEC of controlling the election process.”
"They do not care about the legal procedures of the Cambodian courts"
Chan Malin, who is also the vice-president of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, said the conclusions made by CIVICUS were not for the benefit of human rights and justice, but were for political purposes in the run-up to national elections, expected in July next.
“Their allegations are not based on human rights and legal aspects. They are based on one reason: for the benefit of those political activists,” Chin Malin said.
“They do not care about the legal procedures of the Cambodian courts and the constitution as to why their actions are illegal,” he said, adding the international alliance must respect Cambodia’s constitution and other legal frameworks while calling the report “baseless.”
The Candlelight Party emerged as Cambodia’s main opposition outfit at the commune elections and will challenge the CPP, which controls every seat in the National Assembly, at the 2023 ballot.
CIVICUS also said that despite ongoing engagement by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia and multiple resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council, Phnom Penh had shown no political will to undertake democratic and civic space reforms.
In late August Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN’s special rapporteur, urged Cambodia to release all political prisoners and institute democratic reforms required to counter “severe human rights challenges” and single-party rule.
He said the “unjust” disbanding of the CNRP “has led to systemic control by the powers-that-be, leading to political and other distortions undermining the call for a pluralistic democracy.”
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