A Cambodian union leader appeared in a Phnom Penh court on Friday for “inciting social unrest” after criticizing the Hun Sen regime for silencing dissent.
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Cambodian Trade Union Confederation leader Rong Chhun accused the government in July of committing “irregularities” concerning Cambodia’s border with Vietnam. According to him, this has led to local peasants losing their land.
Opposition leaders have long accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of ceding territory to Vietnam, using border disputes between the two countries to channel nationalist sentiment against his administration.
Rong Chhun, remanded in early August, faces up to two years in prison if found guilty. He is being prosecuted for incitement to commit a crime or to provoke social unrest.
Two other people, arrested during protests calling for his release and facing the same charges, appeared alongside him.
“Rong Chhun told the court that he had” the right to express opinions on social issues, “and denied having committed any offense, his lawyer Sam Sokong told AFP.
Since the legislative elections of 2018 at the end of which the party of Hun Sen, in power for 36 years, won all the seats in Parliament, results strongly contested, the regime has increased the number of arrests and proceedings against in any dissenting voice.
150 opponents, mostly linked to the Cambodia National Rescue Party (PSNC), which made a breakthrough in the 2013 elections before being dissolved a few years later, are currently on trial in the capital.
The main opposition leader, Kem Sokha, is being prosecuted in separate proceedings for “treason”, accused of wanting to overthrow the regime. His trial has been postponed since March, drawing criticism from his lawyer and human rights NGOs.