JOINT STATEMENT: Civil Society Groups Call for the Release of Tep Vanny
(English and Khmer versions attached)
Phnom Penh, 14 August 2018 - Land
activist and human rights defender Tep Vanny has been unjustly detained for
two years, for defending the rights of the Boeung Kak Lake community and her
fellow Cambodians. We, the undersigned civil society organisations and
communities, condemn her ongoing imprisonment and call on the authorities to
immediately and unconditionally release Tep Vanny, drop all dormant criminal
charges and overturn any convictions against her, so that she may return to her
family and community.
Tep Vanny
has fought tirelessly to protect the rights of members of her community
following their forced eviction from their
homes on Boeung Kak Lake, Phnom Penh, but also those of fellow human rights
defenders campaigning for separate causes. As long as she is behind bars, Tep
Vanny is prevented from carrying out her peaceful and valuable work.
“We have to share all the benefits of our
experience. If we stand up together, we can get justice,” said Tep Vanny. “If
the communities join together, we have big power.”
It was during one such peaceful protest
that Tep Vanny was arrested on 15 August 2016, challenging the arbitrary detention of four
human rights defenders and one election official.
On 22 August 2016, she was convicted of ‘insulting a public
official’, and sentenced to six days in prison. However, instead of releasing
her based on time served, the authorities reactivated dormant charges dating
back to a 2013 peaceful protest, later sentencing her to two and half years of
imprisonment and a fine of 14 million riels (around $3,500). To date, Tep
Vanny’s requests for pardon or early release have all been rejected. Her many
trials and appeals have fallen far short of fair trial standards, with the
evidence presented failing to meet the burden of proof required to sustain a
conviction.
“As a
victim of eviction I can guarantee that Tep Vanny did not use any violence or
do anything wrong. I would stake my life on that,” said fellow Boeung Kak Lake
activist Bov Chhorvy. “The authorities should release her so she can be with
her family. Her children and mother need her.”
Her
excessively lengthy detention, apart from taking a personal toll, further
deprives her two children of a
normal childhood, since they only see their mother once a month. Tep Vanny’s
mother’s deteriorating health is aggravated by the ongoing unjust treatment of
her daughter. The inability to care for her family places an acute
psychological burden on Tep Vanny, exacerbated by her detention in one of
Cambodia’s worst prisons, where she
shares a cell with more than 150 other detainees in squalid conditions. Civil society representatives as well as members of the
Boeung Kak Lake community have been frequently turned away when
attempting to visit her in prison, further compounding the isolation from
friends and family and in violation of the UN
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
We call on
the Cambodian authorities to release Tep Vanny immediately and unconditionally,
drop all charges and end all criminal investigations against her. This will
ensure that she is able to continue her work as a human rights defender, and
more importantly reunite with her family and community. Finally, we urge the
authorities to cease the intimidation and harassment of Tep Vanny and all other
activists through arrests, prosecution and imprisonment.
This statement is
endorsed by:
1. 24 Families
Community (Preah Sihanouk)
2. 92 Community (Phnom
Penh)
3. 105 Community (Phnom
Penh)
4. 297 Land Community
(Koh Kong)
5. Activities for
Environment Community (AEC)
6. Alliance for
Conflict Transformation (ACT)
7. Amnesty
International (AI)
8. Angdoung Community
(Preah Sihanouk)
9. Angdoung Kanthuot
(Battambang)
10. Angdoung Trabek Land Community
(Svay Rieng)
11. Anlong Run Community
(Battambang)
12. Ansoung Sork Community
(Battambang)
13. Areng Indigenous Community (Koh
Kong)
14. ASEAN Parliamentarians for
Human Rights (APHR)
15. Asian Democracy Network (ADN)
16. Asian Forum for Human Rights
& Development (Forum Asia)
17. Banteay Srey Community (Phnom
Penh)
18. Bat Khteah Community (Preah
Sihanouk)
19. Boeng Chhuk Community (Phnom
Penh)
20. Boeung Pram Community
(Battambang)
21. Borei Keila Community (Phnom
Penh)
22. Borei Mittepheap Community
(Banteay Meanchey)
23. Borei Sontepheap Community
(Phnom Penh)
24. Bos Sa Am Community
(Battambang)
25. Bou Japan Land Community (Koh
Kong)
26. Buddhism for Peace Organization
(BPO)
27. CamASEAN Youth’s Future
(CamASEAN)
28. Cambodia Indigenous Peoples
Organization (CIPO)
29. Cambodia’s Independent Civil
Servants Association (CICA)
30. Cambodian Center for Human
Rights (CCHR)
31. Cambodian Domestic Workers
Network (CDWN)
32. Cambodian Human Rights and
Development Association (ADHOC)
33. Cambodian Independent Teachers’
Association (CITA)
34. Cambodian Informal Economy
Workers Association (CIWA)
35. Cambodian Labor Confederation
(CLC)
36. Cambodian League for the
Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
37. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
38. Capacity Community Development
Organization (CCD)
39. Chek Meas Land Community (Svay
Rieng)
40. Cheko Community (Phnom Penh)
41. Center for Alliance of Labor
and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
42. Cheung Wat Village Land
Community (Banteay Meanchey)
43. Chikor Kraom Land Community
(Koh Kong)
44. Chikor Leu Land Community (Koh
Kong)
45. Chirou Ti Pi Community (Tbong
Khmum)
46. Chhub Community (Tbong Khmum)
47. Chorm Kravean Community
(Kampong Cham)
48. C I 5 Community (Preah
Sihanouk)
49. CIVICUS: World Alliance for
Citizen Participation
50. Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)
51. Coalition of Cambodian Apparel
Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU)
52. Coalition of Cambodian Farmers
Community Association (CCFC)
53. Coalition of Integrity and
Social Accountability (CISA)
54. Committee for Free and Fair
Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL)
55. Community Peace-Building
Network (CPN)
56. Confederation of Cambodian
Worker (CCW)
57. Dok Por Community (Kampong
Speu)
58. Dombe Community (Tbong Khmum)
59. Equitable Cambodia (EC)
60. Fishery Community (Banteay
Meanchey)
61. Front Line Defenders (FLD)
62. Forest and Biodiversity
Preservation Community (Svay Rieng)
63. Free Trade Union of Workers of
Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
64. Gender and Development Cambodia
(GADC)
65. Horng Samnom Community (Kampong
Speu)
66. Human Rights Watch (HRW)
67. Independent Democracy of
Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
68. Independent Monk Network for
Social Justice (IMNSJ)
69. Indigenous Youth at Brome
Community (Preah Vihear)
70. International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH), within the Framework of the Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders
71. International Freedom of
Expression Exchange (IFEX)
72. Khva Community (Phnom Penh)
73. Koh Sralao Fishery Community
(Koh Kong)
74. Lor Peang Land Community
(Kampong Chhnang)
75. Mlup Prom Vihea Thor Center
(Koh Kong)
76. Moeunchey Land Community (Svay
Rieng)
77. Minority Rights Organization
(MIRO)
78. Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC)
79. Network for Prey Long
Protection in Mean Rith Commune (Kampong Thom)
80. Orm Laing Community (Kampong
Chhnang)
81. Ou Ampil Land Community
(Banteay Meanchey)
82. Ou Chheu Teal Community (Preah
Sihanouk)
83. Ou Khsach Community (Preah
Sihanouk)
84. Ou Tracheak Chet Community
(Preah Sihanouk)
85. Ou Tres Community (Preah
Sihanouk)
86. Ou Vor Preng Community
(Battambang)
87. Phnom Bat Community (Phnom
Penh)
88. Phnom Kram Community (Siem
Reap)
89. Phnom Sleuk Community
(Battambang)
90. Phnom Torteong Community
(Kampot)
91. Phsar Kandal Village Land
Community (Banteay Meanchey)
92. Phum 22 Community (Phnom Penh)
93. Phum Bo Loy Community
(Ratanakiri)
94. Phum Dei Chhnang Community
(Kampong Speu)
95. Phum Samut Leu Community
(Ratanakiri)
96. Phum Ou Svay Land Community
(Banteay Meanchey)
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