Two top human right activists were charged with defaming the Cambodian government, officials said on Saturday, sparking fresh concerns about freedom of expression in the war-scarred Southeast Asian nation.
Kem Sokha, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, which is allied with the opposition party, was arrested at his office and escorted to a Phnom Penh court, where he was questioned and charged by prosecutors, said lawyer Som Chandyna.
Another legal worker for the Center, Yeng Vireak, was also arrested on Saturday and faced the same charge, a court official said. Both men face fines and up to one year in prison if found guilty.
"We all are so worried about our safety and worrying that the center will be closed after police took our boss away," said Ou Virak, a spokesman for the organisation, which has been criticial of the country's human rights record.
The arrests have revived concerns among foreign diplomats about human rights in a country still grappling with the legacy of forced labour, starvation, execution and disease during the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" years from 1975 to 1979.
Mark Storella, a US diplomat, called the arrests "a backstep in terms of human rights in Cambodia".
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