President and members of Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community charged with incitement


Tep  Nayak  

Kratie provincial police arrested president of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC) Theng Savoeun and his 36 members on Wednesday as they left Ratanakkiri for Phnom Penh for questioning a large scale gathering in Ratanakkiri province.

A day after their arrest and interrogation, Kratie provincial police sent and handed them over to Ratanakkiri provincial authorities for further questioning about the large-scale gathering.

Ratanakkiri provincial governor Nhem Sam Oeun that Ratanakkiri provincial authorities had cooperated with Kratie provincial police to arrest them on their way from Ratanakkiri to Kratie city.

"The reason for the arrests is due to the suspicion that their large-scale rallies were secretly politically motivated," he said. 

"They came to Ratanakkiri for a few days and the authorities closely monitored their irregular activities. After we reported to Kratie Provincial Police, they were detained to invite for questioning in order to clarify what they activity that they have did." 

He added that among them, the authorities decided to detain Theng Savoeun, president of CCFC, Nhel Pheap, a senior staff member, and Than Hach, a project staffer, and sent the three of them to Ratanakkiri Provincial Court for further questioning according to court procedures, while another 34 people were released by police yesterday. 

In this regard, LICADHO issued a statement yesterday stating that police had decided to arrest Theng Savoeun, president of CCFC, Nhel Pheap, a senior staff member, and Than Hach, an official project staff member. 

The statement added that the reasons for stopping the bus and arresting the three are still unclear. All three were among those detained overnight, while 34 others were released by police on Thursday morning.

 According to LICADHO, authorities confiscated laptops, cell phones and other handwritten documents from them, and police officers from the Interior Ministry's Anti Cyber Crime Department were also present at the commission after the staff of the CCFC was arrested by the police.

Pao Nheung, a member of Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), said she did not take part in the activity because she was in hospital, but she was aware of the news that authorities had arrested the president and members of CCFC in Kratie and later sent to Ratanakkiri Provincial Court.

She expressed regret that the authorities had arrested the president and members of CCFC, which had never acted in violation of the law. Instead, it only helps to mediate and resolve land rights issues for citizens.

"If the president and members of CCFC are arrested, it is indeed immoral because we have never done anything illegal other than protecting natural resources, especially our land rights," she said.

"The president has never done anything wrong with seeking legal redress to help the community achieve a land settlement," she said.

Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC) is a membership body established in 2011 to help address land rights issues and issues affecting farmers.

Theng Savoeun had been arrested along with members of civil society and other communities in January 2014 after a violent crackdown on protesters in Phnom Penh, he spent five months in prison and was previously sentenced to four years in prison and suspended. //END// 

 


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