Mother Nature Activists Denied Bail Again

Khmer Times/Ros Chanveasna

Monday, 21 September 2015

From left to right: Mother Nature activists Sim Samnang, Sun Mala and Try Sovikea. Mother Nature

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Three environmental activists detained and charged with threatening and damaging a sand dredging company were yesterday denied bail by the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh. 

The decision came after weeks of large protests in the area outside the Koh Kong prison and the provincial courthouse there calling for the release of the activists, who are all working with environmental NGO Mother Nature.  

“The court decided to deny bail to them because the lower court has not yet collected enough evidence for the case to proceed,” Appeals Court Judge Phou Povsun told Khmer Times.

Despite denying the three bail, Mr. Povsun said they could submit another request for bail that the court will consider. 

The three activists –Try Sovikea, 23, Sun Mala, 23 and Sim Samnang, 28 – were detained on August 19. They had refused to comply with a summons calling them to a local police station for questioning about their role in the protests against Direct Access, a company that was granted a one-year license last August from the Mining Ministry to dredge sand in an estuary in the province’s Andoung Teuk commune.

In an interview last month with Khmer Times, Khem Sameth, CEO of Direct Access, said “Activists from environmental NGO Mother Nature caused more than $100,000 in damages to a company that was legally dredging for sand in Koh Kong province.”

“They disturbed my business and threatened to burn my boats,” Mr. Sameth said.

The activists have been charged with threatening to cause destruction, defacement or damage and ordering others to do so. If they are convicted, they face up to 2 years in jail.

Am Sam Ath, technical coordinator of the human rights group Licadho, said that the Appeals Court decided to follow the decision of the Koh Kong provincial court, which also denied the three bail on August 31.

“There are three reasons that the Appeals Court decided to deny bail – first, it guarantees the presence of the charged person during the proceedings against them; secondly, it prevents the offense from happening again and thirdly, it preserves public order from any trouble caused by the offense.”