Law and judiciary

Cambodia’s three-year-long “war on drugs” campaign has led to a litany of human rights abuses and the overcrowding of prisons and detention centres, human rights watchdog Amnesty International has announced in a new report. Released during the weekend, the report titled “Substance Abuses” documents the government’s ...

Before lockdowns, curfews, and safe distancing, Thodsapone Kitta would go door to door, visiting low-income families in Thailand’s northern Nan province, a poor, mountainous region home to hill tribes and rural farmers where people are vulnerable to trafficking. For Thodsapone, a member of The Freedom Story, ...

The draft law on public demonstrations in Vietnam, which has been planned for nine years now, will not be submitted to the parliament for discussion in its upcoming session. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a request by the Ministry of Public Security to postpone ...

Thailand is extending the state of emergency for a month until May 31, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on Tuesday (April 28), even as new coronavirus cases in the country have been on a decline for the past few weeks. “The extension is necessary. Many orders especially in ...

The 92nd Mekong River joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded on Saturday morning (April 25) as three Chinese law enforcement boats returned to Guanlei Port in the southwest Province of Yunnan. A total of 109 law enforcement officers from the four countries participated ...

The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry is seeking to postpone the enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), due to take effect late next month, saying state and private organisations will be too burdened to comply during the pandemic. The PDPA was published in ...

Legislation authorizing a state of emergency to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Cambodia risks violating the right to privacy, free speech, and peaceful assembly, a United Nations expert said Friday, as lawmakers gave their final approval of the bill. “Emergency measures must be necessary ...

Amnesty International has shared a new video it received that claims to show extreme overcrowding and “inhumane conditions” in a Cambodian prison amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video, released on Friday, shows at least 25 prisoners crammed into a small cell and lying on the floor. There is ...

The current COVID-19 virus health crisis is said to have been passed on by animals to humans. Suspected wildlife pinned for the spread of the pandemic include bats and pangolins – both considered delicacies in China where the virus first emerged. According to a recent study, ...

Cambodia’s National Assembly approved legislation on Friday authorizing a state of emergency to contain the spread of the coronavirus despite widespread concerns that it would give unchecked power to Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has rolled back democratic freedoms in the country. The parliament’s 125 lawmakers, ...