An environmental activist, front right, raises his V-sign together with supporters as he leads a protest near Phnom Penh Municipality Court, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Ten members of a nonviolent environmental activist group in Cambodia were convicted on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, receiving prison sentences of six years each.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ten members of a Cambodian environmental activist group that campaigned against destructive infrastructure projects and alleged corruption were each sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison on charges of conspiring against the state.

Three of the members of the group Mother Nature Cambodia were also convicted of insulting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, for which they were sentenced to an additional two years in prison, giving them a total of eight years behind bars.

Only five of the defendants attended the trial and the others were convicted in absentia. They included four Cambodians whose whereabouts are unknown and Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spanish national who co-founded the group and was deported in 2015 and barred from ever returning to Cambodia.

The five who attended the trial were arrested outside the court after the verdict and sentences were issued. They had marched to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with supporters, dressed in traditional white clothing worn at funerals, which they said represented the death of justice in Cambodia.

Phun Keoraksmey, a 22-year-old member of the group whose mother was by her side, said she was prepared to go to prison.

“But I never want to go back to jail because I never did anything wrong. But I will never run from what I am responsible for. I chose this way, I chose this path,” she said.

The Cambodian human rights group Licadho called the verdict “very disappointing.” “Today, the court has ruled that youth activists fighting for environmental protections and democratic principles are in effect acting against the state,” it said. “It is astounding that Cambodian authorities are convicting youth activists who are advocating for clean water in Phnom Penh, protecting mangrove forests in Koh Kong and warning against the privatisation of land in protected areas and presenting it as an attack against the state.” The group last year was the co-winner of the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes characterised as the “Alternative Nobel,” issued by a Stockholm-based foundation to organisations and individuals working to “safeguard the dignity and livelihoods of communities around the world.” Three members of the group who were in jail at that time were denied permission by Cambodian court authorities to travel to Sweden to accept the award.

Mother Nature, founded in 2012, was deregistered as a nongovernmental organisation by the Cambodian government in 2017 but its members vowed to carry on its work, with some serving jailtime in recent years.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch last month accused Cambodian authorities of trying the activists on politically motivated charges “to muzzle criticism of governmental policies.” “For more than a decade, Mother Nature has campaigned against environmentally destructive infrastructure projects, exposed corruption in the management of Cambodia’s natural resources, and mobilised young Cambodians to defend the country’s dwindling biodiversity,” it said in a statement. It noted that Cambodia has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates and levels of wildlife trafficking.

Gonzalez-Davidson and two other defendants were charged with defaming the king in statements made during an online meeting.

Cambodia’s government has long been accused of using the judicial system to persecute critics and political opponents. The government insists the country observes the rule of law under an electoral democracy, but parties seen as challengers to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have been dissolved by the courts or had their leaders harassed.

Under former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who held power for almost four decades, the government was widely criticised for human rights abuses that included suppression of freedom of speech and association. His son, Hun Manet, succeeded him last year, but there have been few signs of political liberalisation.

Phnom Penh:

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun and Indian Ambassador to the country Devyani Khobragade launched the first-ever direct flight between Phnom Penh and New Delhi on Sunday.

The flight between the two capitals will be operated four times a week by Cambodia’s national flag carrier Cambodia Angkor Air.

Several members of the Indian community also joined the flight inauguration ceremony which not only marks ease of travel for tourists but also strengthens the historic ties between the two countries.

The Embassy of India in Phnom Penh hailed the development as a “historic moment”, citing India’s “Act East” Policy.

A statement released by Angkor Air said that the new connection will make the Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO-listed world heritage site, more accessible to Indian tourists and also provide Cambodian patients better access to medical treatments in India.

“With both nations’ rich histories and mutual interests, Cambodia Angkor Air is optimistic about the potential and positive impact of this new service,” the statement said.

Citing India’s involvement in the restoration of Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear temples in Cambodia depicts the cultural and linguistic connect, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again spotlighted the historical and civilisational links between the two countries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

This handout photo taken and released Cambodia Senate on April 3, 2024 shows senator Hun Sen (C) casting his ballot to designate the president of Senate during the first meeting of the Senate in Phnom Penh. Former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was promoted to senate president on April 3, taking over a key ceremonial role less than a year after handing power to his son.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was promoted to senate president on Wednesday, taking over a key ceremonial role less than a year after handing power to his son.

Hun Sen stepped down in August after nearly four decades of iron-fisted rule, passing the baton to his eldest son Hun Manet following a landslide win in national polls held without any significant opposition parties.

In February his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won 55 seats — including his own — out of 58 in the senate election, with the opposition Khmer Will Party taking the remainder.

On Wednesday senators unanimously voted to approve Hun Sen as president of the senate after King Norodom Sihamoni convened its first meeting.

The position allows Hun Sen to act as acting head of state when the king is overseas.

Addressing the senators after the vote, Hun Sen thanked them for the “honour”.

“It is my first time to sit on such a high chair,” he said, saying he would use the second-highest ceremonial role — only superseded by the king — to further Cambodia’s international diplomacy.

There are 62 senators, with 58 elected in February by 125 MPs and more than 11,000 local administrators, mostly members of Hun Sen’s party.

King Norodom Sihamoni appoints two senators, while the National Assembly appoints two others.

Analysts said Hun Sen’s new role would allow him to continue to dominate the country.

“The senate isn’t a powerful political or legislative body, but it holds the highest ceremonial role as the highest political symbol of the nation,” Cambodian political analyst Ou Virak told AFP.

He said because of the king’s frequent travels, Hun Sen taking the role of senate president was significant — and hugely symbolic.

“In Cambodia, symbolism is everywhere and everything,” he said.

It is the latest in a series of moves that have seen Hun Sen consolidate power across the government.

The administration now includes a number of Hun Sen’s relatives, including his youngest son Hun Many as a deputy PM, with several children of his allies also holding top jobs.

After coming to power in 1985, Hun Sen helped modernise a country devastated by civil war and genocide.

But critics say his rule has also been marked by environmental destruction, entrenched graft and the elimination of nearly all political rivals.

New Delhi:

At least 5,000 Indians are being reportedly held against their will in Cambodia and are being forced to scam Indians back home online. The sheer scale of the fraud – the Centre pegs the proceeds of crime generated over the past six months at a whopping Rs 500 crore – prompted the two countries to join forces to bring it all down.

“We have seen the media reports on Indian nationals stuck in Cambodia. Our Embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work,” the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding that around 250 Indians have been “rescued and repatriated” so far.

According to media reports, those trapped in Cambodia were forced to scam people back home in India and extort money by posing as law enforcement officials and telling the potential victims that suspicious things were found in parcels shipped by them.

The police became aware of this massive scam late last year when a senior central government employee claimed he was defrauded of over Rs 67 lakh and filed a complaint. Odisha’s Rourkela Police busted a cyber-crime syndicate on December 30 and arrested eight people allegedly involved in moving people to Cambodia.

“We arrested eight persons from different parts of the country and have prima facie evidence against multiple people involved in the scam. We issued Look Out Circulars against 16, following which the Bureau of Immigration detained two men – Harish Kurapati and Naga Venkata Sowjanya Kurapati – at the Hyderabad airport after they landed from Cambodia,” an officer said, the Indian Express reported.

The Modus Operandi

Stephen, one of the men rescued from Cambodia, has an ITI degree. When the coronavirus pandemic struck, he did some computer courses, he told The Indian Express, detailing the racket’s modus operandi.

“An agent in Mangaluru offered me a data entry job in Cambodia. There were three of us, including one Babu Rao from Andhra Pradesh. At the immigration, the agent said we were going on a tourist visa, which made me suspicious,” he told Express.

The three were taken to an office in Cambodia where they were interviewed, Stephen said, adding that only two of them could clear it. The boss was Chinese, while a Malaysian helped translate for them, he said.

“They tested our typing speed among other things,” he said. “It was only later that we found out that our job was to look for profiles on Facebook and identify people who can be scammed. The team was Chinese, but a Malaysian translated the instructions to English,” he added.

A Day In The Lives Of Cyber Slaves

Forced to pose as women with fake social media profiles and fake photos, the men were given daily targets, and punishment for not meeting them. This is how the recruits would spend their days in a country they were lured to with the “promise” of a better job.

The “cyber slaves” would go without food and rest if they failed to meet their daily targets, the Express report quoted Stephen as saying.

“We had to create fake social media profiles with pictures of women sourced from different platforms. We were told to be careful while picking the photos,” he said.

“A “South Indian woman” would trap someone in the north to avoid raising any suspicion. We had targets and if we didn’t meet them, we would not get food or be allowed to go to our rooms. Finally, after a month and a half, I contacted my family and with the help of some local politicians, they managed to speak to the Embassy,” he said.

How Were The Indians Scammed

The accused took the men, or the potential scammers, to Cambodia on the pretext of jobs, Rourkela’s police official Upasana Padhi told The Indian Express.

Once there, the men were made to join the companies that indulged in defrauding people, she said. These companies would take away the passports, making it impossible for them to leave, and force them to work 12 hours a day, she added.

“If anyone refused to do what is asked of him, he would be tortured by way of physical assaults, electric shocks, solitary confinement, etc. Many Indians not willing to engage in such scams are trapped there. We are trying to identify, contact, and bring them back through proper channels,” Ms Padhi said.

The scammers would pose as women on dating apps and chat with the potential targets. “After some time, they would convince the target to invest in cryptocurrency trading. Many were duped in India this way,” she said.

According to the Rourkela Police, the agents got the men to join another company that focused on investment scams in October 2023. “This company lured people to invest in fake stocks. They also created a fake online app,” the officer said.

The police have gathered several key pieces of information, including the location of the fraud companies, their operatives, their modus operandi, and their management hierarchy, Ms Padhi said.

They have also identified three high-level operatives of Indian origin and one high-level operative of Nepalese origin. “We intend to arrest key players in this scam with the help of Interpol,” she added.

New Delhi:

Amid reports of several Indian nationals stuck in Cambodia who were lured with employment opportunities there but were allegedly forced to undertake illegal cyber work, the MEA on Saturday said it is collaborating closely with the Cambodian authorities and about 250 Indians have been “rescued and repatriated”.

Of the 250, 75 were rescued in just the past three months, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

“We have seen media reports on Indian nationals stuck in Cambodia. Our Embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work,” it said.

“Collaborating closely with Cambodian authorities, it has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, of which 75 (were rescued) in just the last three months,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying in the statement.

Several advisories have also been issued by the ministry and the Embassy of India in Cambodia to “our nationals about such scams”, the statement said.

The MEA said that it issued the statement in response to media queries.

“We remain committed to helping all those Indian nationals in Cambodia who seek our support. We are also working with Cambodian authorities and with agencies in India to crack down on those responsible for these fraudulent schemes,” Mr Jaiswal said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In this photo provided by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Telegram, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony in Beijing on September 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The leaders of China and Zambia announced an upgrading of their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on September 15, as the world’s second-largest economy forges deeper ties with the Global South.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also met new Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet earlier the same day, and with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this week.

The trio of leaders from Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America speak to China’s growing role in those parts of the world. Chinese state banks have financed roads and other infrastructure projects and Chinese companies have built factories, mines, hotels and casinos.

China has in turn won diplomatic support from many Global South countries on contentious debates and votes at the U.N. and from Cambodia in China’s territorial disputes with other Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea.

Its outreach to the Global South has taken on greater geopolitical import as China seeks allies to push back against growing pressure from the United States and its partners on multiple fronts.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported online that Mr. Xi and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced the upgraded partnership at a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, a monumental building on one side of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

That came two days after China announced it had upgraded diplomatic ties with Venezuela to an “all weather” partnership — a status China has granted to only a handful of countries — after the Xi-Maduro meeting.

Development loans from China and others have saddled some countries, including Zambia, with unsustainable debt levels, sparking debt crises that stymie economic development. More than 40% of Cambodia’s $10 billion in foreign debt is owed to Chinese institutions.

Hun Manet made China his first official foreign visit after succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for 40 years.

The U.S. had shown disapproval of Hun Sen’s undemocratic moves and is uneasy over the expansion of a Cambodian naval facility with Chinese assistance. Hun Sen consistently denied that Cambodia had granted China the right to set up its own military base at Ream Naval Base.

After his meetings in Beijing, Mr. Hun Manet plans to join other Southeast Asian leaders this weekend in southern China at the 20th ASEAN-China Expo, which promotes cooperation in trade, investment and tourism.