The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) has been paying close attention to the case of land and housing rights activist Mrs. Yorm Bopha, who was arrested by the Phnom Penh Municipal Police on 04 September 2012. The Municipal Court sentenced her to 3 years in prison on 26 December 2012 under Article 218 of the Cambodian Criminal Code: “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” and ordered her to pay 30 000 000 riels (7500$) in compensation. Her husband, Mr. Lous Sakhorn was sentenced under the same provision but released on bail.
The Appeal Court heard the appeal of Yorm Bopha over two days on 05 and 14 June 2013. The court rejected her appeal but suspended one year of her sentence.
ADHOC calls on the Supreme Court to drop all charges against Yorm Bopha and release her immediately.
Yorm Bopha has been a prominent land and housing rights activist since 2007. She has been a strong critic of the Phnom Penh Municipal Authority, who forcefully evicted her community from Boeung Kak Lake in January 2012. Their land was grabbed to make way for a commercial development in central Phnom Penh by Shukaku Inc – a company owned by Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Senator Lao Meng Khin. She had been threatened countless times before her eventual arrest in September 2012.
The Supreme Court has a duty to respect the law and free Yorm Bopha. ADHOC reminds the court of its obligations under article 14(1) of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which have been incorporated into the domestic legal order under Article 31 of the Cambodian Constitution. ADHOC calls on the Supreme Court to free Yorm Bopha immediately, drop all charges against her and investigate the Municipal Court and the Appeal Court for their clear bias. Yorm Bopha has already lost over a year of her life to prison.
Cambodia’s judiciary is notoriously partisan towards the CPP and its backers. This should serve as a moment for the judicial system to reflect and reform so as to act in the interest of all Cambodians rather than remain a rubber stamp for the whims and interests of the ruling party and its cronies.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of Human Rights and Legal Aid Section: 011 274 959
Mr. Neil Loughlin, Technical Assistant: Human Rights and Legal Aid Section; 092 648 318; loughlin.adhoc@gmail.com
