Authorities in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province arrested two more activists from the country’s banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) over the weekend, bringing to 29 the total number detained since the start of the year.
Ngin Sophat, the CNRP’s provincial secretary for Ratanakiri, and Thoeun Bunthorn, the CNRP’s head of operations for Ratanakiri’s Banlung city, were taken into custody on Saturday amid a flurry of arrests targeting party members since CNRP acting president Sam Rainsy announced that he plans to return to Cambodia from self-imposed exile in November to lead a “restoration of democracy” in the country.
The two men were sent to the Ratanakiri Provincial Court on Monday afternoon for legal processing related to their cases, Ngin Sophat’s daughter, Ngin Kungkear, told RFA’s Khmer Service, adding that she had made several requests to see her father since his arrest, but was denied permission.