The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) strongly condemned a crackdown on the freedom of expression and the detention of four youths including its human rights worker who was on duty to monitor the gathering of the natural activists of the Mother Nature Movement.
An ADHOC’s monitoring official and three youths were detained and sent to Chamkamorn Hall in the early morning of 25 June 2015 in a crackdown by the district’s security forces.
Dit Sokthy, a monitoring official from #Adhoc, were detained at the gate of the Phnom Penh Center at 8:40am and sent into a police track with other three activists from the Mother of Nature while he was on duty to monitor disperse by security forces against a group of youths who attempted to hand a petition to the parliament and Singapore’s embassy in Phnom Penh.
“I told them [security forces] that I am a monitoring officer from #Adhoc, however, they did not listen and sent me to the police van,” said Mr. Sokthy after being allowed to return home at 11:30am.
Those youths were also released after they were interrogated; however, there was no interrogation on the human rights monitor.
Sokthy added “a police wearing civil clothes asked me about my personal information and told me to thumbprint on it, but I refused as long as I did nothing wrong.”
Around 15 youths who are from the Mother of Nature and Mahanakor Youth attempted to hand a petition to the national assembly in the early morning of 25 June 2015, demanding the sand dredging stopped at Arieng river in Koh Kong province.
Their attempt failed after a large group of security forces came in and dispersed the gathering near the gate of the Phnom Penh Center.
