Today, Ms. Yorm Bopha, a 29-year old land rights activist from the Boeung Kak Lake community in Phnom Penh, was released from prison following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, which ordered her release on bail and sent her case back to the Appeals Court for further investigation and a retrial.
“We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court to release Ms. Yorm Bopha on bail. However, she should never have been detained in the first place”, OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock said today. “Her retrial is hanging over her head like a sword of Damocles and is likely to deter her future activities. Accordingly, all charges against her should now be dropped”, he further urged.
Ms. Yorm Bopha has been actively involved in her community’s struggle against forced evictions and emerged at the forefront of a campaign for the release of thirteen of her fellow activists (the “Boeung Kak 13”) who were arrested, charged, convicted and imprisoned as a result of a peaceful land rights demonstration in May 2012.
She was arrested on September 4, 2012 and sentenced to three years in prison on December 27, 2012 after being found guilty on bogus charges of assault. Her prosecution was widely perceived as related to her activism. Her conviction was upheld on appeal on June 14, 2013 when the original custodial sentence of three years was reduced to two on the grounds that she did not directly commit violence. It was alleged by the court that she and her husband masterminded the assault of two suspected thieves.
The facts and circumstances of her arrest, as well as a thorough examination of the charges and evidence produced against her, clearly suggest that the prosecution of Ms. Yorm Bopha was carried out in retaliation for her activities as a high-profile land and housing rights advocate. The judicial process was marred by significant irregularities and her fundamental rights have been repeatedly violated.
“Ms. Yorm Bopha’s prosecution represents a gross miscarriage of justice and is yet another blow to the credibility of Cambodia’s judicial system. It can now only be hoped that the judiciary reasserts its independence and orders the unconditional release Ms. Yorm Bopha at the Appeals Court hearing”, FIDH President Karim Lahidji said.
The Observatory urges the authorities of Cambodia to ensure that all human rights defenders are able to work without any fear of reprisals. It also calls on the authorities to conform to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Cambodia.