Ten Cambodian environmental activists receive prison sentences of 6-8 years each

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (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 activities who are advocating for clean water in Phnom Penh, protecting mangrove forests in Koh Kong and warning against the privatization 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 characterized as the “Alternative Nobel,” issued by a Stockholm-based foundation to organizations and individuals working to “safeguard the dignity and livelihoods of communities around the world.”

Three members of the group who were serving suspended prison sentences 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 organization 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 mobilized 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 criticized 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 liberalization.

“Instead of listening to young leaders at the forefront of the environmental movement, the Cambodian government has chosen to jail those that dare to speak out," Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for research, Montse Ferrer, said in a statement after the court's ruling.

“The government has shown time and time again that it will not tolerate any dissent. This verdict is yet another sign that Cambodia’s government has no intention of protecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly."

This story corrects that the activists who were barred from traveling to Sweden were serving suspended prison sentences.

An environmental activist, center, raises a 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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Environmental activists march on a main street as they head to 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. The words in a flower frame is read "Justice". (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Environmental activists march on a main street as they head to 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. The words in a flower frame is read "Justice". (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Environmental activists raise their V-sign during 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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Environmental activists, front row, sit during 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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An environmental activist, center, with his supporters, gather 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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An environmental activist, center, is escorted by polices personnel 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. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

GENEVA (AP) — The international swimming federation says its executive director has been ordered to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation into the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021 yet were allowed to continue competing.

The news comes just three weeks before the Paris Olympics where 11 of the Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned heart medication three years ago are set to compete.

A House Committee on China asked the Justice Department and the FBI on May 21 to investigate the case under a federal law that allows investigations into suspected doping conspiracies even if they occurred outside the U.S.

Swimming’s world governing body, World Aquatics, told The Associated Press on Thursday that its top administrator, Brent Nowicki, was subpoenaed to testify in the investigation.

“World Aquatics can confirm that its executive director, Brent Nowicki, was served with a witness subpoena by the United States government,” World Aquatics said in a statement to The Associated Press. “He is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which, in all likelihood will obviate the need for testimony before a Grand Jury.”

World Aquatics declined to answer questions about where and when Nowicki was served his subpoena and didn’t say which office was handling the investigation. The FBI didn't immediately return requests for comment.

The swimmers in question were allowed to compete at the previous Olympics in Tokyo despite testing positive for a banned heart medication just months before those games. Chinese officials blamed food contamination and the World Anti-Doping Agency accepted that explanation and has since defended its handling of the case.

The positive tests were not publicly known until the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD first reported on the case earlier this year.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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