Three of four Mother Nature environmental activists arrested on Wednesday, had arrest warrants issued for them on the alleged charge of “plotting,” local authorities said, a charge used recently against former opposition officials.
The U.S. is pulling its funding for the Greening Prey Lang project, which works to protect the sanctuary from deforestation, and redirecting money for the Cambodian government to civil society groups and communities working to protect the forest.
The raid and arrests were conducted under the nearly 1-year-old national security law imposed on the semi-autonomous city by Beijing last year. Police said five executives of a company were arrested on suspicion of collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national secur
The activists, all members of the conservation group Mother Nature, were jailed for between 18 and 20 months for incitement to commit a felony or disturb social order.
The statement, which included 45 rights groups and community organizations, highlighted how at least 22 journalists were either attacked or threatened with violence while in the field in 2020.
The warning is in response to several photos and videos posted on Facebook showing police using wooden sticks to beat people.
Phnom Penh residents are facing food shortages and financial strife as the capital and Takhmau city complete a week of the country’s two-week lockdown.
Fear of physical violence and legal risk is a daily part of the job, according to Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association.
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