- Ten environmental activists face up to a decade in prison as their trial gets underway in Cambodia on charges of plotting against the government.
- The members of Mother Nature Cambodia have long sought to highlight environmental harms being done around the country, including by powerful business and political elites.
- Six of them have already served time behind bars and have denounced what they say is a lack of justice from the state.
PHNOM PENH — The trial against Mother Nature Cambodia, one of the country’s last environmental activism groups, kicked off at the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance on the morning of May 29.
Ten environmental activists are on trial for allegedly plotting against the government, a charge that carries a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.
Of the 10, only five attended court, dressed in traditional Cambodian burial attire: Yim Leanghy, Ly Chandaravuth, Thun Ratha, Phuon Keoreaksmey and Long Kunthea.
Leanghy is among three Mother Nature Cambodia activists on trial for both plotting against the government and insulting the king.
The second charge could add between one and five years to his sentence if found guilty. Spanish national Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, the group’s founder, and Sun Ratha were also charged under Cambodia’s lèse-majesté laws for insulting the king after a Zoom call from May 14, 2021, was leaked.
Neither Gonzalez-Davidson nor Ratha attended court. Gonzalez-Davidson, the group’s original founder, was deported from Cambodia in 2015 and remains banned from entering the country. Three others — Minh Piseth, Rai Raksa and Pok Khoey — were charged with plotting and did not appear before the court.
The start of the trial saw only Leanghy take the stand for questioning, after which the court was adjourned for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Proceedings will pick back up for a full-day hearing on June 5, according to sources from inside the courtroom.
Mother Nature Cambodia’s trial has been delayed repeatedly, and there were emotional scenes outside the court as the five activists in attendance braced themselves for a return to prison. Thun Ratha held his infant child until it was time to enter the court.
Outside the court, prior to the trial beginning, Long Kunthea, who faces up to 10 years in prison, protested the innocence of the environmental activism group.
“We are innocent people and we work to protect the national interest,” she said. “If today the court decides to accuse us and take us to prison again, we are still thankful to all the people who grant us justice because the court never grant us justice.”
The charges of plotting date back from 2012 to 2021 and cover a wide range of Mother Nature Cambodia’s activism. Six of the activists, including the five present at court on May 29, already served time behind bars for their activism, but were released on bail on Nov. 12, 2021.
However, the charges were never dropped and the conditions of their bail demanded they cease all activism.
Kunthea had been planning to stage a one-woman protest against the continued infilling of Phnom Penh’s lakes, the resultant evictions and increased flood risk posed to the city. But her march never happened. She was bundled into a police car before she could begin.
Kunthea, Thun Ratha and Keoreaksmey were all arrested on Sept. 3, 2020, and held in pretrial detention until May 5, 2021, when they were sentenced to 18 months each in prison. Kunthea and Keoreaksmey were confined to a women’s prison in Phnom Penh before they were released on bail in November 2021.
“We hope you all stay strong and continue to work for the cause of protecting natural resources in Cambodia,” Kunthea said before entering the court.
Ly Chandaravuth, a former law student turned activist, said he had no regrets for his activism and that it was done for the people of Cambodia.
“We want to see our people live with dignity. We want to see people own a house without worrying about eviction. We want people to own land unafraid that someone will violate their ownership. We want to see them have forests without worrying that someone will destroy it for their own interest,” he said. “We want to see people live equally as humans, as Khmer citizens.”
Protection of Cambodian citizens and their rights, he said, ought to be more of a priority for the government than protecting loggers, tycoons and the wealthy elite.
“I want to send a message to the court that even though today you may prosecute me, in the future, I believe that history will prosecute you all,” he said.
Chandaravuth had already spent five months in prison after being arrested on June 16, 2021, while taking water samples at Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh. Following his release he returned to environmental activism. He appeared in Mother Nature Cambodia’s latest video, published on May 16, 2024, highlighting the toxic pollution of a river in the northwestern province of Battambang that was linked to a nearby factory. At the time of writing, the video has been viewed more than 55,000 times.
Ouch Pichsamnang, a veteran activist not associated with Mother Nature Cambodia, appeared in support of the young environmentalists, saying the trial reflects the suffering in Cambodia.
“Journalists and international journalists, please know that the government does not follow the Constitution,” he said. “Anyone who follows the Paris Peace Agreements or the law has been arrested.”
Mother Nature Cambodia was the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award in 2023 for its continued activism in the face of adversity. A short documentary was recently released on the impact that their time in prison — as well as their likely return to it — was having on the lives of the activists.
Banner image: Thun Ratha turns and waves to his wife and child as he enters the court to face conspiracy charges for his environmental activism. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.