Thailand deports 6 Cambodian opposition party activists

UPDATED on Nov. 29, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET

Cambodia has charged six political activists deported from Thailand with treason in what their relatives and supporters called a case of cross-border persecution.

On Sunday, a total of seven people were sent back from Thailand, including a 7-year-old grandson of one activist, who was released to family members upon returning to Cambodia.

They had fled to Thailand in 2022.

The six -- Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou and Soeung Khunthea and Vorn Chanratchana - were all members or supporters of the one-time opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, or CNRP, which was banned in 2017.

They are being held in three separate Cambodian prisons, Kheang Sonadin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Prisons, told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.

“These six people were detained under the arrest warrant of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ... for treason as stipulated in the Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” he said.

Hong An’s daughter, Sean Sinuon, called the arrest and deportation of her mother and other refugees from Thailand to Cambodia a barbaric act.

“Their arrest is a forced arrest, a denial of their right to speak and express their opinions,” she said. “I urge the government and the courts to quickly release them because they have done nothing wrong.”

Radio Free Asia could not reach Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Y Rin for comment on the case.

Previous imprisonments

Among the activists, Pen Chansangkream and Hong An were previously imprisoned in 2021 on charges of incitement in connection with protests demanding that the government of former Prime Minister Hun Sen address social injustice.

After their release, they remained committed to their opposition party and decided to flee to Thailand for safety.

Ny Sokha, the president of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, or Adhoc, said the Thai government has the obligation to protect refugees recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR.

He said it was regrettable that Thai authorities failed to fulfill their duties, instead handing the political activists over to Cambodia.

Ny Sokha considered this a violation of refugee rights, a violation of international law, and that the United Nations must intervene to address member states that violate their obligations. Otherwise, refugees will continue to suffer, he said.

“We are very disappointed. The behavior of the government and the Thai authorities in deporting them is unacceptable,” he said. “This is a shameful thing on the international stage.”

The CNRP was founded by veteran opposition leader Sam Rainsy in 2012 and dissolved by a court in 2017 after being accused of plotting to topple the government, which the party denied.

A spokesperson for the UNHCR did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

RELATED STORIES

Crackdown on political activists tops Thai-Cambodian summit agenda

Cambodian leader to discuss border issues, trade on first Thailand visit as PM

Silent struggles plague Cambodian refugees in Bangkok

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s national police, provincial police and the Phnom Penh Municipal Court could not be reached for comment.

A Thai immigration official confirmed that the seven had been detained in Pathum Thani province, in Bangkok’s northern suburbs on the weekend and sent back to Cambodia.

“Based on immigration law, we had to deport them on Sunday evening,” said the officer, who declined to be identified.

‘Swap mart’

International human rights groups have condemned Thailand for assisting neighbors, including Vietnam and Cambodia, to undertake what the groups say is unlawful action against human rights defenders and dissidents, making Thailand increasingly unsafe for those fleeing persecution.

Human Rights Watch criticized what it called a “swap mart” of transnational repression in which foreign dissidents in Thailand are effectively traded for critics of the Thai government living abroad.

Thailand has rejected such criticism, saying it only implements its immigration laws.

The Cambodian and Thai governments are collaborating in transitional repression, said Soeung Sen Karuna, director of the Australia-based Khmer Democracy Organization.

“It is very inhumane that Thailand turns to collaborate with the Cambodian government to deport Cambodian opposition activists back to their homeland where they face severe prosecutions,” he said.

“Thailand fails to honor human rights law and refugees rights as a member of the UN. I condemn the Thai authorities,” he said. “They should stop such harassment and persecutions and not be judged as joining hands with the Phnom Penh government.”

Pimuk Rakkanam contributed to this report.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news organization affiliated with BenarNews.