Thailand deports 6 Cambodian activists facing treason charges over critical Facebook comments

PHNOM PENH (AP) – Six Cambodian activists accused of treason for Facebook comments critical of their government have been deported from Thailand pending trial, a pro-democracy group said Thursday.

The Khmer Movement for Democracy, formed by exiled opposition leaders, criticized the decision on November 24 to repatriate four women and two men, saying they would face “inhuman and degrading treatment” in Cambodia’s overcrowded prison system.

Thailand and Cambodia have been accused by rights groups of having reached a de facto agreement on returning political dissidents wanted by their respective countries.

The activists – Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou, Soeung Khunthea and Vorn Chanratana – are affiliated with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was dissolved ahead of the 2018 general election as part of a crackdown on dissent.

The Cambodian People’s Party later won all seats in the National Assembly in an election that returned autocratic leader Hun Sen to power.

Hun Sen ruled Cambodia for almost four decades until 2023. In 2023, he stepped aside to make way for his son Hun Manet, who was elected prime minister that year in elections that were criticized internationally as neither free nor fair.

Six activists were charged with treason by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in August after they issued statements criticizing the Cambodian government’s participation in a decades-old regional development agreement with neighboring countries, said Am Sam Ath, chief operating officer of indigenous rights group Licadho. He confirmed that six people had been deported by the Thai government.

The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) agreement was a development plan aimed at facilitating cooperation on trade and migration in Cambodia’s four northeastern provinces and border areas in Laos and Vietnam. It was signed in 1999 and became official in 2004.

Critics focused on territorial concessions, claiming that the agreement privileged foreign interests and specifically transferred land and sovereignty to Vietnam. an extremely sensitive subject Due to Cambodia’s historical hostility towards its larger eastern neighbour.

Almost 100 people were arrested in August He is in Cambodia to protest the agreement.

Hun Manet defended the crackdown, saying authorities must maintain social order and security for the good of all Cambodians, and accused protesters of trying to overthrow his government.

Then his government Withdrew from CLV-DTA in Septemberbut accusations against those protesting continue.

Cambodian Prisons Department spokesman Kheang Sonadin said all six activists were assigned to various prisons on November 25.

If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

_____

Ascensions reported from Bangkok