JAKARTA – The Cambodian authorities must immediately drop all charges against a member of the opposition who faces up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of 3,480 USD for “public insult” and “incitement” after he posted on Facebook about EU rice tariffs, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today.
Kong Mas, a member of the banned opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested last week in the capital, Phnom Penh. On Saturday 19 January, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sent him to pre-trial detention and said police had charged him under the Criminal Code with “public insult” (Article 307) and “incitement to commit felony” (Article 495) – catchall charges often used against anti-government activists in Cambodia, which could carry a prison sentence of up to two years.