Cambodian activists say fear has grown decade after critic's killing

Cambodian union leader Chhim Sithar said freedom in Cambodia has been shrinking and that speaking out has become difficult and riskier, as activists marked 10 years since the murder of government critic Kem Ley in Phnom Penh. Chhim Sithar, 37, spoke at a demonstration this month outside the site where Kem Ley was killed. She said she feared being jailed again, but said the larger fear was the loss of rights.

Chhim Sithar served two years in prison after leading a strike at Cambodia's largest casino, which authorities deemed illegal. She told AFP that people were worried about speaking out.

Analysts and rights activists say former Cambodian leader Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, have tightened their control over Cambodia since Kem Ley's death. Kem Ley, a popular political commentator, was shot dead in a Phnom Penh cafe in 2016 soon after giving an interview about an investigative report that alleged the ruling family had accumulated millions of dollars.

Cambodia has about four times as many political prisoners now as it did in 2016, according to the local rights group Licadho. The group says it has documented at least 125 political prisoners in Cambodia today, compared with about 30 in 2016.

Cambodia's main opposition party was banned and its leader Kem Sokha was jailed the year after Kem Ley was killed. Several independent media outlets have also been shut. The ruling Cambodian People's Party won the two following general elections without a viable challenger. Opposition politician Rong Chhun said civil rights and political freedoms had been reduced to almost zero, and said no public intellectual now matched Kem Ley's willingness to speak about society.

The source says Cambodians who criticize the government are regularly arrested, including politicians, activists, farmers and tuk-tuk drivers. Five members of the outlawed environmental group Mother Nature were imprisoned in 2024 for between six and eight years for plotting against the state. The charges were condemned by the United Nations and rights campaigners.

Veteran opposition politician Lim Kimya was shot dead last year while visiting Thailand, allegedly by a hired killer. In Kem Ley's case, a former soldier is serving a life sentence after confessing to the murder and saying he was motivated by an unpaid debt. Some people claim Kem Ley was killed because he spoke out against government corruption. The government has denied any role in his murder.

Rights watchdogs have long accused Cambodian authorities of using violence, arrests and courts dominated by the Cambodian People's Party to silence critics. Analyst Meas Nee told AFP that risks could arise at any time if people spoke about matters that made politicians unhappy. He said territorial disputes remain sensitive, especially after military clashes with Thailand last year in which Bangkok asserted control over disputed border lands. He said he now speaks more cautiously than before Kem Ley's killing.

Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP that Cambodia does not criminalize criticism. He said the government welcomes constructive, evidence-based criticism, but that all organizations must operate transparently, professionally and under Cambodian law.

Kem Sokha, leader of the court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, was pardoned in May after serving nearly a decade of a 27-year sentence for treason. His political rights, including holding office and voting, remain revoked.

Civil society groups also face funding pressure. Licadho operations director Am Sam Ath said the group lost 30 to 35 percent of its budget after reductions in US aid under President Donald Trump. Politkoffee, a group that had held nearly weekly public forums in Phnom Penh for more than eight years, now holds smaller private meetings after the German think tank that hosted them withdrew support. A Politkoffee member told AFP the group was trying to keep a low profile and said young people were afraid when they heard political words.