Social development
Human rights
Myanmar arrests two for their mocking Facebook posts
Myanmar authorities have arrested a peace activist and a young woman for mocking the country’s powerful military in the latest crackdown on free speech ahead of landmark elections on 8 November. Human rights groups have condemned the military-dominated government for moving their repression into social media, ...
Cambodian official facing trial over Facebook post
A Cambodian Information Ministry official has been charged with defamation over a Facebook post accusing a CPP senator of being the mistress of a military general, and has been summoned to trial on 19 October. According to the 5 October summons, Prum San, deputy director of ...
Refugees from Nauru move out of Phnom Penh villa
The first group of refugees to arrive in Cambodia as part of a controversial deal the government struck with Australia a year ago have moved out of their temporary accommodations in Phnom Penh, the Australian government said on 15 October. Keep reading ...
Amnesty International wants contract killing case reopened
Amnesty International has called on the authorities to reopen the investigation into the killing of environmental activist Charoen Wat-aksorn after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittals of three people accused of involvement in his death. Keep reading ...
Rohingya refugee likely back in Myanmar
A Rohingya refugee who landed in Phnom Penh in June as part of a controversial resettlement deal with Australia is likely back in Myanmar after requesting to return home, according to the Interior Ministry. Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the Rohingya man—who, according to the government, ...
Cambodia’s rights defenders under ‘all kinds of threats,’ advocate says
A prominent human rights advocate says Cambodia continues to operate in a repressive environment, with a government that fails to respect local and international standards and laws. Rights workers in Cambodia are under “all kinds of threats, both spiritually and in personal security,” Ny Chakrya, lead ...
In Vietnamese floating villages, a precarious life
For the thousand or so ethnic Vietnamese families who have lived and fished for years in the floating villages along the Tonle Sap river in Cambodia’s Kompong Chhnang province, the insecurity of their lives here was made clear last week. Evicted from moorings in the center ...
Single gateway jitters in Thailand
With the Thai government exploring the pros and cons of initiating a single international gateway (single gateway), uncertainty is being felt in the country’s growing tech industry and e-commerce sector. The cabinet ordered relevant state agencies to report legal complications concerning the deployment of a single ...
A countdown to refoulement
The planned upcoming deportation of Montagnard asylum seekers back to Vietnam will include 13 already recognised as refugees in March unless the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) can find a third country to resettle them, the UNHCR and a refugee advocate ...
Wife of jailed Lao activist asks Poland’s justice ministry for help with extradition
The wife of a jailed Polish citizen of Lao heritage has asked Poland’s justice ministry to request the Lao government to transfer her husband from a detention center in the Southwestern Asian nation to one in his European home country. Barbara Paklak-Thammavong told RFA’s Laos Service ...
