[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]
CAMBODIA: suppression of freedom of expression; violation of the right to life; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that 34 year-old Soy Sopheap, a news analyst for CTN TV in Cambodia, received an anonymous letter that threatened to kill him on 7 September 2006. Apparently, the letter came from an army general who had been affected by negative press reports which were analyzed and discussed by Soy Sopheap on television.
The letter urged him to stop criticising the military otherwise his life would be in danger. The letter said, Soy Sopheap! Dont show off too much! Don’t interfere with military affairs. Military affairs should be left to the military to solve. You know, myself like other generals, if we have many stars, this is because we simply are not ordinary people, we are powerful people. You should not criticize the stars [generals] too much. Be careful about what you say and about your security, young man! I have hated you for so long. You criticise the stars and you’ll be dead! The letter also contained a mobile phone number, 012 92 91 43, but calls made to this number after receiving the letter could not get through.
The letter was found at the bottom of one of the tamarind trees in a section of the pavement across from the National Assembly compound in Phnom Penh. The area has several food stalls which are patronised by journalists and National Assembly staff. The place is nicknamed “the tamarind tree assembly” as journalists gather there every day to share news amongst each other. According to food sellers and National Assembly staff, a taxi driver riding a green Super Cub motorcycle pulled up at the tamarind tree and hung the letter onto it. When asked why he hung the letter there, the man said that someone had hired him to do it and paid him 5000 Riels (US$ 1.25) for the job. He added that he did not know what was inside the letter.
Soy Sopheap has been doing press reviews on the CTN TV channel every morning for several years until the programme was recently dropped. He selected newspaper articles on various issues and analysed main stories that are covered in the press. Over a period of time before the end of that TV programme, he paid more attention to articles covering land disputes between military commanders and poor people, as well as the illegal logging that has gone on in many places across Cambodia. He was also conducting field investigations into some land-grabbing cases and reported his findings and solutions to the prime minister, to whom he had direct access. On this particular issue of land-grabbing, he echoed on his TV programme the prime minister’s public statements which warned that any army general, commander or high ranking government official who hurt the people by grabbing their land or engaged himself in illegal logging would be dismissed from their job.
It should be reminded that over the years, land disputes, land grabbing and illegal logging have affected many people in town as well as in the rural areas. It is known that in some places senior army officers and other powerful people are behind all these widely condemned activities. There has been continued protest against these activities. The prime minister has also from time to time issued measures against land grabbers for fears that the protests might degenerate into riots. But these measures are not effective and have been used more to calm down the protests rather than to address the real issue since the land grabbers are often his own supporters.
This death threat to Soy Sopheap is yet another instance of the abuse of power by members the ruling elite, the absence of the rule of law and the continued threat to freedom of expression and press freedom. This has followed a death threat via fax sent to You Saravuth, editor of the Khmer language newspaper Khmer Srolanh Khmer, on June 21 after it had reported on a land-grabbing case in Mondolkiri and Rattanakiri provinces in which Hun To, the prime minister’s nephew, and a senior army officer were alleged to be involved. You Sasavuth made a complaint to the police and the court. Hun To summoned him to a meeting and was reported to have intimidated him in that encounter. Hun To then sued You Saravuth for defamation afterwards. You Saravuth felt so threatened that he had to flee the country.
The AHRC strongly condemns this abuse of power by those people in positions of authority, and their threat to life and to freedom of expression and press freedom. We urge the highest level of Cambodian authorities to immediately investigate the death threat to Soy Sopheap and to You Saravuth, and bring their authors to justice. Witnesses to the scene where the letter was placed, the letter itself in the Soy Sopheap case, as well as the fax and reported intimidation in the You Saravuth case should all provide a good lead in those investigations. The progress and results of these investigations should also be made public.
The AHRC also urges donor governments, UN agencies, international aid agencies and the international human rights community to work with the Cambodian government and courts to end this abuse of power by people in position of authority, especially the threat to their lives and to the freedom of expression and press.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below calling for an investigation and the arrest of the authors of the letter to Soy Sopheap and of the fax to You Saravuth, as well as for the end to the abuse of power by people in position of authority and their threat to life and to freedom of expression and press.
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To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear_________,
CAMBODIA: Death threat letter sent to television broadcaster
Name of the victims: Mr. Soy Sopheap, 34 year-old television reported for CTN TV;
Mr. You Saravuth, editor of the Khmer Language newspaper Khmer Srolanh Khmer.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Unknown army general, Cambodian Military; Unknown senior army officer, Cambodian Military; Mr. Hun To, nephew to the prime minister
Date of incident: 7 September 2006; 21 June 2006
Place of incident: Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
It has come to my knowledge that on 7 September 2006, 34 year-old Soy Sopheap who is a news analyst for the CTN TV in Cambodia received an anonymous letter that threatened to kill him. Apparently, the letter came from an army general who had been affected by negative press reports which were analyzed and discussed by Soy Sopheap on television.
The letter urged him to stop criticising the military otherwise his life would be in danger. The letter said, Soy Sopheap! Dont show off too much! Don't interfere with military affairs. Military affairs should be left to the military to solve. You know, myself like other generals, if we have many stars, this is because we simply are not ordinary people, we are powerful people. You should not criticize the stars [generals] too much. Be careful about what you say and about your security, young man! I have hated you for so long. You criticise the stars and you'll be dead! The letter also contained a mobile phone number, 012 92 91 43, but calls made to this number after receiving the letter could not get through.
The letter was found at the bottom of one of the tamarind trees in a section of the pavement across from the National Assembly compound in Phnom Penh. The area is the place where journalists gather there every day to share news amongst each other. According to food sellers and National Assembly staff, a taxi driver riding a green Super Cub motorcycle pulled up at the tamarind tree and hung the letter onto it. When asked why he hung the letter there the man said that someone had hired him to do it and paid him 5000 Riels (US$ 1.25) for the job.
As I understand it, Soy Sopheap has been doing press reviews on the CTN TV channel every morning for several years until the programme was recently dropped. Over a period of time before the end of that TV programme, he paid more attention to articles covering land disputes between military commanders and poor people, as well as the illegal logging that has gone on in many places across Cambodia. He was also conducting field investigations into some land-grabbing cases and reported his findings and solutions to the prime minister, to whom he had direct access. On this particular issue of land-grabbing, he echoed on his TV programme the prime minister's public statements which warned that any army general, commander or high ranking government official who hurt the people by grabbing their land or engaged himself in illegal logging would be dismissed from their job.
To my knowledge, this death threat to Soy Sopheap is yet another instance of the abuse of power by members the ruling elite, the absence of the rule of law and the continued threat to freedom of expression and press freedom. This has followed a death threat via fax sent to You Saravuth, editor of the Khmer language newspaper Khmer Srolanh Khmer, on June 21 after it had reported on a land-grabbing case in Mondolkiri and Rattanakiri provinces in which Hun To, the prime minister's nephew, and a senior army officer were alleged to be involved. You Sasavuth made a complaint to the police and the court. Hun To summoned him to a meeting and was reported to have intimidated him in that encounter. Hun To then sued You Saravuth for defamation afterwards. You Saravuth felt so threatened that he had to flee the country.
I join others in strongly condemning this abuse of power by those people in position of authority, and their threat to life and to freedom of expression and press freedom. I therefore request you to immediately investigate the death threat to Soy Sopheap and to You Saravuth, and bring their authors to justice. I believe that the witnesses to the scene where the letter was placed and this letter itself in the Soy Sopheap case, as well as the fax and reported intimidation in the You Saravuth case should all provide a good lead in these investigations. I would appreciate being kept informed of the progress of in the investigations and the results.
I also urge donor governments, UN agencies, international aid agencies and the international human rights community to work with the Cambodian government and courts to end this abuse of power by people in position of authority, especially the threat to their lives and to the freedom of expression and press.
I look forward to your immediate intervention.
_____________
PLEASE SEND LETTER TO:
1. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-21 98 98
Fax: +855-23-36 06 66
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh
2. Mr. Sar Kheng
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Interior
275 Norodom Blvd.
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Fax/phone : +855-23 72 19 05/72 60 52/72 11 90
E-Mail: info@interior.gov.kh, moi@interior.gov.kh
3. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minster of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: + 855-23-36 41 19/21 66 22
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh
4. Gen. Ke Kim Yan
Commander-in-Chief
High Command Headquarters
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
Kambol
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
5. Mr. Henro Raken
Prosecutor General
Court of Appeal
No. 14, Boulevard Sothearos
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855-23-21 84 60
6. Justice Chiv Keng
President
Phnom Penh Municipal Court
N° 31, Monireth (St. 217), corner Street 213
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
7. Mr. Uk Savuth
Prosecutor
Phnom Penh Municipal Court
N° 31, Monireth (St. 217), corner Street 213
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
8. General Hok Lundy
National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat of National Police
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel/Fax: +855-23-21 65 85/22 09 52
9. Ms Margo Picken
Director
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Cambodia
N¢X 10, Street 302
Sangkat Boeng Keng Kang I
Khan Chamcar Mon
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-987 671 / 987 672, 993 590 / 993 591 or +855 23 216 342
Fax: +855-23-212 579, 213 587
10. Prof. Yash Ghai
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia
Attn: Ms. Afarin Shahidzadeh
Room 3-080
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 91 79214
Fax: +41 22 91 79018 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE CAMBODIA)
11. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o J Deriviero
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9177
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
