PHNOM PENH — Six Cambodian activists, who were charged with treason due to critical comments made on Facebook about their government, have been deported from Thailand back to Cambodia to face trial, as reported by a pro-democracy organization on Thursday.
The Khmer Movement for Democracy, established by opposition figures living in exile, has condemned the decision to send the four women and two men back to Cambodia on November 24. They warn that the activists will likely experience “inhuman and degrading treatment” in Cambodia’s already overcrowded prison facilities.
Human rights organizations allege that both Thailand and Cambodia are operating under an informal agreement that allows for the deportation of political dissidents who are wanted in their home country. The activists — identified as Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou, Soeung Khunthea, and Vorn Chanratana — are linked to the opposition party, Cambodian National Rescue Party, which was disbanded ahead of the general elections in 2018. This disbandment was part of a broader effort to suppress opposition.
Following the dissolution of the party, the Cambodian People’s Party secured all seats in the National Assembly during an election that reinstated the autocratic rule of Hun Sen, who had been in office for nearly 40 years. In 2023, he stepped down, handing over leadership to his son, Hun Manet, who assumed the role of prime minister amidst international criticism concerning the fairness of the elections.
The six activists faced charges of treason in August from the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after they publicly criticized the Cambodian government’s role in a longstanding regional development agreement with neighboring nations. Am Sam Ath, the Operational Director of the local rights organization Licadho, confirmed their deportation by Thai authorities.
The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) agreement, first signed in 1999 and formalized in 2004, aimed to foster cooperation in trade and migration among the four northeastern Cambodian provinces and adjacent areas in Laos and Vietnam. Critics of the agreement have voiced concerns over land concessions, particularly highlighting that it favors foreign interests and threatens to compromise Cambodian land and sovereignty, an issue of particular sensitivity given the country’s historical tensions with Vietnam.
In relation to this issue, close to 100 people were arrested in Cambodia in August during protests against the agreement. Hun Manet defended the government’s crackdown on dissent, claiming that authorities must ensure social order and security for Cambodians, while accusing the protesters of attempting to destabilize his administration.
The Cambodian government opted out of the CLV-DTA in September, but the legal proceedings against those involved in the protests continue. Kheang Sonadin, speaking for Cambodia’s prison department, indicated that all six activists were assigned to different prisons on November 25. Should they be convicted, they are at risk of facing sentences of up to 10 years in prison.