NOVANEWS
Members of Cambodian human rights groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are facing surveillance on daily basis, with the government tapping their phones or using security agents to follow the activists, according to media reports.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Members of Cambodian human rights groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are facing a wave of threats, abuse and surveillance, as the general election in the country approaches, local media reported Wednesday.
According to the Cambodia Daily, the organizations’ leaders and key members are facing surveillance on daily basis, with the government tapping their phones or using security agents to follow the activists. The government’s security forces have also repeatedly disrupted the organizations’ events and threatened to jail the activists. The NGO leaders raised an alarm, saying that not only themselves, but their family members also started to receive threats, the media outlet said.Besides, the newspaper itself claimed that the government was hindering its work and work of other media by presenting huge tax bills and bureaucratic procedures regarding registration as media outlets. According to a number of accounts, quoted in the newspaper, the government had previously tried to intimidate the activities of NGOs, however surveillance and abuse threats have intensified since previous general election in 2013.
The newspaper noted that amid the increased intimidation and government’s attempts to silence the activists, the NGOs had made efforts to adjust to the environment and continue their work. In particular, a number of organizations, such as the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and Transparency International Cambodia, had adopted encrypted emails and messengers.
The general election will be held in Cambodia in July 2018. The opposition, led by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), believes it has an opportunity to win the vote, claiming that the previous election in 2013 was rigged. In February 2017, the Cambodian parliament amended criteria for those running for the prime minister’s office, barring individuals with convictions and thus preventing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s chief political rival Sam Rainsy, president of the CNRP, from holding any office.The pressure on the rights defendants has particularly intensified in 2016, as Adhoc 5, five current and former human rights activists were arrested over corruption-related charges in April 2016. Tep Vanny, environmental activist, organized a protest demanding their release, but was jailed herself over allegedly insulting security guards. In July 2016, political analyst Kem Ley was assassinated two days after he spoke on the radio about the report, revealing the wealth of the prime minister’s family. Kim Sok, another political analyst, openly accused the government of his colleague’s assassination and faced defamation charges in February 2017.
