Human rights
Civil and political rights
Thailand scraps unpopular Internet 'Great Firewall' plan
Thailand’s military government has scrapped a plan to create a single Internet gateway, a deputy prime minister said on 15 October, putting paid to a system aimed at allowing authorities to monitor content. Keep reading ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Another Areng Valley activist arrested
A prominent Areng Valley activist joined three other environmentalists in jail on 7 October in Koh Kong after being questioned at the provincial court about alleged “forest crimes”. Ven Vorn, 36, a community representative and commune councillor with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, was arrested at the ...
Laos in the spotlight again over human rights
Human rights violations are again an issue in Laos – and a thorn in the side of a government more concerned with centrally-planned economic policies – following the death 61-year-old Tiang Kwentianthong. Tiang was originally arrested for praying for a sick woman without government approval. Reports ...
