After 601 days in prison, Mother Nature activists appeared at the Supreme Court on Monday in a hearing related to bail.
Long Kunthea, Ly Chandaravuth, Phuon Keoraksmey, Thun Ratha and Yim Leanghy were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison on plotting charges in July 2024. Yim Leanghy was additionally convicted of insulting the king, while five other Mother Nature members were convicted in absentia.
They applied for bail while appealing their convictions, and were initially denied by the Appeal Court in February last year and the Supreme Court two months later. They requested another hearing with the Appeal Court in December but were denied, and took the request to the Supreme Court.
Human Rights Watch has called their imprisonments “baseless and harsh,” saying Mother Nature’s peaceful activism had exposed corruption and environmental damage.
Before the hearing, the activists had the opportunity to meet and talk with their families. Thun Ratha asked for permission to give a hug to his 6-year-old son. Long Kunthea told Mekong Independent that she had spent the past two years in the Preah Vihear prison reading books, weaving scarves, exercising and continuing her law studies on her own.
“Even if I couldn’t finish my law degree at the university, I will try to study on my own,” she said. She was arrested while she was in her fourth year of law studies at a university in Phnom Penh.
“I am happy to see other young people participating in social work and environmental protection during my time in prison.”
Ly Chandaravuth was reading a book from the Right Livelihood foundation, which gives awards to social justice and environmental activists. Mother Nature was awarded by them in 2023 “for their fearless and engaging activism to preserve Cambodia’s natural environment in the context of a highly restricted democratic space.”
Presiding Judge Seng Neang, four other judges, prosecutor Ouk Kimsith and three defense lawyers attended the hearing.
Defense lawyer Sam Chamroeun argued that the Appeal Court’s rejection to hold another bail hearing was without basis.
“I object to the Court of Appeal’s finding that releasing the five clients would cause them to commit new crimes and escape,” he said. Even after a previous incarceration, his clients had never escaped and always showed up at court to prove their innocence.
Lawyer Sam Sokunthea added that the activists’ appeal of their conviction had been delayed in the Appeal Court, affecting their rights.
“Some of my clients are studying, some are doing social work, and some have responsibilities to take care of their young children, so the court should consider releasing them,” Sam Sokunthea said.
Lawyer Ly Sochetra said the activists’ convictions had been made without sufficient evidence.
The judge asked the five defendants to stand up and make their requests.
Phuon Keoraksmey said: “I want my freedom back to continue working to protect the environment. And I don’t want to be in prison, which is a burden on the state.”
Thun Ratha said detaining environmental activists did not benefit society. “I am going back to take care of my children. They are still very young. Please have mercy on them.”
After hearing from the activists and lawyers, the judge said the Supreme Court would announce its verdict on March 2. The prosecutor spoke little during the hearing, only saying he agreed with the lower courts’ decisions.
After the hearing, the activists sat together for a meal and waited for their buses to arrive to take them to their prisons.
The five have spent 601 days in five separate prisons: Thun Ratha in Correctional Centre 3 in Tbong Khmum province; Ly Chandaravuth in Kandal prison; Phuon Keoraksmey in Pursat prison; Yim Leanghy in Kampong Speu prison; and Long Kunthea in Preah Vihear prison.
Ly Chandaravuth told Mekong Independent that he wanted to continue to work for social justice and said he was grateful that Cambodians and the international community had shown concern over their cases. He added that he and the four other activists were willing to stay in prison and not apologize to the government.
“Someone tried to persuade each of us to apologize in order to gain freedom, but we refused,” he said.
Outside the Supreme Court, Mam Sovathin and Seak Panha, who have been long-time strikers against Phnom Penh casino NagaWorld, held banners asking the court to release the environmental activists. Mam Sovathin said it was not the first time she had come to encourage them. She believed the actions of the environmental activists were done to protect the environment and protect the common good.
“We are victims. We understand the feelings clearly, and we cannot leave anyone behind. The activists of the Mother Nature movement have sacrificed their personal freedom to protect the environment, so we all need to encourage good people.”
