Human rights

After a Khemerak University student was jailed in Phnom Penh on 22 August over a social media post calling for a “color revolution” in Cambodia, the school’s director on 24 August claimed that politics had “poisoned” students at his institution. Police arrested Kong Raya, 25, at the university ...

British rights activist Andy Hall has been charged with criminal defamation in Thailand after he researched a report that alleged labour abuses at the Natural Fruit Company, a large Thai pineapple wholesaler that supplies the EU. The Bangkok south criminal court decided on 24 August to indict the ...

Reporters in Laos must cover the news in greater depth, an official said as the country marked the 65th anniversary of Media and Publication Day, but sources claim journalists are hamstrung by a lack of press freedom in the communist nation, with the public increasingly ...

Authorities in Laos have released a young woman who had been detained for more than two months after a photo she took was posted on Facebook, allegedly showing police officers extorting money from her brother during a stop for a traffic violation, according to a ...

The United Nations on 11 August denounced “shockingly” long prison terms imposed by Thailand for insulting the monarchy and urged authorities to amend the law and release those convicted. Thai military courts on 7 August jailed two people for insulting the monarchy, one for 30 years and the ...

With tourism on the rise in Myanmar, the sector must better prepare for an influx of orphanage and child-sex tourism – problems that are already prevalent in the more travel-worn neighbouring countries, a report by three NGOs has warned. The tourism impact assessment was conducted by ...

Cambodian authorities arrested six demonstrators 26 July as they protested against the recent passing of a controversial law regulating non-governmental organisations, officials and a rights group said. The six demonstrators — five men and a woman — were among dozens who rallied outside of the parliament building ...

A Myanmar court has fined two journalists 1 million kyat ($800; £514) each, after finding them guilty of defaming the president. Nine other staff from the Myanmar Herald were acquitted in the case, which was filed by the information ministry last November. Keep reading ...

Eleven opposition activists, including a US citizen, were handed lengthy prison sentences yesterday for their roles in a protest at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park last year that turned violent and left dozens injured. In a decision that came as a surprise to many, judge Lim Makaron ...

A Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor has decided to charge prominent human rights monitor Ny Chakrya in a case that rights groups have labeled a bald-faced attempt to suppress criticism of the Kingdom’s judiciary. The case stems from two Siem Reap Provincial Court officials who accused Chakrya ...