The Cambodian government has stepped up its attacks on political opposition members in advance of national elections slated for July 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately end the government's violent rhetoric, release the seven political activists currently detained, and investigate and appropriately prosecute those responsible for recent assaults on opposition Candlelight Party members.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has a history of explicitly threatening physical violence and arrests against political opponents. During a speech on January 9 in Kampong Cham province, he warned the opposition not to criticize the ruling Cambodian People's Party ahead of the upcoming elections. Since then, a number of opposition party members have been assaulted in Phnom Penh in broad daylight while others were convicted on politically motivated election forgery charges.
"Prime Minister Hun Sen is using every repressive tool at his disposal to rid Cambodia of any political opposition ahead of the July elections," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Foreign governments should send a clear public message that dismantling opposition parties and disqualifying, assaulting, and arresting their members before election day means that there won't be any real election at all."
In his January 9 speech, Hun Sen offered his opponents the choice between accepting the rulings of the courts, which the ruling party has long controlled, or violence, stating: "I want to ask you, there are only two ways: one is the legal system, another one, the stick. Which one do you want out of those two?" He rejected any assertion that opposition complaints about previous elections are protected by freedom of expression: "You speak of rights to freedom of expression, I can respond by mobilizing people at your location, [and] follow you to your house." He ended the speech with a final warning: "[B]e careful, if my temper is not controlled, you will be split up."
Since that speech, seven reported acts of violence have targeted a total of six opposition party members. Three instances occurred following a Candlelight Party planning meeting in Phnom Penh on March 18 for the July elections. Four additional cases were reported following a March 20 visit by party activists to the United Nations human rights office in Phnom Penh and their participation in a public gathering calling for the release of political prisoners.
In March and April, Human Rights Watch interviewed four of the six opposition party members who were assaulted.
The attacks had multiple similarities, suggesting that the same people were responsible for all of them. All four attacks were carried out by two men in dark clothes with dark motorcycle helmets riding a single motorbike, with the driver remaining on the bike while the passenger assaulted the victim. In three attacks, the assailants used an extendable metal baton as a weapon. In two attacks, the victims could hear the attackers confirming the victims' identity moments before they were assaulted. No money or valuables were stolen. All of those interviewed said they believe they were targeted because of their participation in Candlelight Party activities.
Following Hun Sen's speech, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced 13 other members of the political opposition to prison terms on politically motivated charges. On March 24, the Court announced the convictions of Seam Pluk, the jailed co-founder of the opposition Cambodia National Heart Party, and 12 others on charges related to forgery of party registration documents. Pluk was sentenced to 30 months in prison while the other 12 defendants received two-year sentences, plus hefty fines.
On April 12, the authorities arrested and continue to detain two additional Candlelight Party members on forgery charges related to the party's candidate lists, which had been approved nearly a year earlier. And on March 21, two opposition members were arrested for "insulting the monarchy" on Facebook. One was soon released after he publicly apologized to the king and Hun Sen, while the other remains in pre-trial detention.
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, raised concerns about attacks on political space in Cambodia in a March 7 statement. He said: "In Cambodia, the Government continues to suppress political opposition, human rights defenders and independent media … These actions seriously undermine the civic and political space, including the environment for free and fair elections in July."
Cambodia's major trade partners such as the European Union, United States, and United Kingdom should send clear messages to the government that future economic and political engagement will be linked to Cambodia's compliance with its international human rights obligations. Governments including Japan, EU member countries, and Australia that have financially supported election processes or conducted election monitoring in Cambodia should publicly raise serious concerns about rights abuses against opposition political leaders and activists before the election, Human Rights Watch said.
"Cambodia's partners should call on the government to immediately release detained opposition activists and remove all unnecessary barriers to political party participation," Robertson said. "Hun Sen should recognize that his campaign antics - from threatening speeches to political prosecutions - do little more than chisel his authoritarian legacy into stone."
For details about the attacks on opposition members, please see below.
Assaults on Political Opposition Activists
Because of concerns for their security, the names of the four activists who provided accounts of assaults are pseudonyms.
Sophal, March 18
Sophal, an active member of the Candlelight Party, said that he was leaving a party meeting at about noon on March 18 in Sangkat Phnom Penh Thmei, in Phnom Penh, when two men on a motorbike cut in front of his motorbike, forcing him to stop. One man stayed on the motorbike and said "Hit him! Hit him!" while the passenger ran toward Sophal holding an extendable metal baton, yelling "That's the one!" He struck Sophal at least five times with the baton, hitting him until he fell to the ground.
Sophal said he suffered severe bruises on his forearm and chest. He said that two other similar attacks occurred in Phnom Penh against active members of the party, on March 18 and 19. He did not report the attack to the police because he worried that if he were publicly identified, he and his family members could face possible retaliation from those responsible.
Vathanak, March 27
Following these attacks, on March 20, five Candlelight Party members, including the three people who had been attacked, visited the UN human rights office in Phnom Penh. Vathanak, who had not been assaulted, was among the five. He said that at about 6 p.m. on March 27, he was walking in front of his home in Phnom Penh when he heard someone from behind him say "Is it him?" Before he could turn around, Vathanak felt a sharp object hit him on the left side of his head.
