Cambodian environmental group slams ‘politically motivated’ trial.

By Kate Lamb

(Reuters) – Members of a Cambodian conservation group face up to 10 years in prison on charges that its founder says are politically motivated and part of a wider crackdown on criticism of the government – allegations authorities deny.

Ten activists from the group Mother Nature have been charged with conspiring against the government, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Three have also been charged with violating Cambodia’s lese majeste laws, which carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and the court is expected to deliver its sentences on Tuesday.

The proceedings were launched amid deepening concerns about political freedom in Cambodia under Prime Minister Hun Manet, who took power last year after decades of rule by his father, Hun Sen. Under Hun Sen, the opposition was all but disbanded, independent media closed and dozens of activists imprisoned.

Faced with charges in absentia, Mother Nature founder Alejandro Gonzales-Davidson has sharply criticized the trial.

“It’s a kangaroo trial,” he said, adding that his lawyer said there was no evidence to support the allegations.

Pen Bona, a spokesman for the Cambodian government, denied that the group was targeted for environmental protection or that the allegations were politically motivated.

“The government has never taken action against those who criticize. The government only takes action against those who commit crimes,” he said.

Founded in 2013 by Spanish national Gonzales-Davidson, Mother Nature has long campaigned against environmental destruction in Cambodia, calling attention to deforestation, illegal sand mining and corruption in development projects.

Three activists involved in the trial were previously imprisoned on charges of incitement, but were later released.

The latest allegations had been dormant since 2020, but they resurfaced online in May, said Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported nearly a decade ago and is barred from re-entering the country.

He added that the charges of conspiring against the state have not been explained in court, but three members were arrested after documenting suspicions of pollution entering the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh in 2021.

The lèse-majesté allegations relate to a leaked internal Zoom meeting about political cartoons.

Activists deny any wrongdoing, while Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the government to drop the case, which it says is aimed at “silencing criticism of government policy.”

“Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, like his father Hun Sen, seems determined to throw environmental activists in prison rather than recognize their contributions to Cambodian society,” said Bryony Lau of HRW.

(Editing by Ed Davies and Lincoln Feast.)