They are taking to the streets for the future of their country, speaking out against environmental destruction, human rights abuses and corruption. Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC) is a group of young people committed to protecting the environment who have achieved remarkable successes. They have partnered with Rainforest Rescue from the beginning.
The activists of MNC have been awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award) for their commitment to the environment and democracy. In their own country, however, they have been persecuted by the regime and repeatedly thrown in jail, most recently on July 2, 2024. Ten MNC members were sentenced to between six and eight years.
Thun Ratha, Ly Chandaravuth, Yim Leanghy, Phuon Keorasmey (photo above) and Long Kunthea are behind bars. Five other activists convicted in absentia are also at risk of going to prison. Their “crimes”: conspiring against the state and insulting the king.
Worldwide protests against the unjust sentences
Rainforest Rescue and many other organizations have denounced the verdict as unjust and called for the immediate release of the environmental activists. These include the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Right Livelihood Committee, and the Cambodian human rights organization Licadho.
The five activists have been sent to five different prisons, hundreds of kilometers from their homes. The United Nations has condemned such actions as a violation of human rights. “Splitting up activists to ensure they are detained far from each other and their families is cruel and unusual punishment that has no precedent in Cambodia.” Licadho said in a statement.
“Cambodia’s prisons are designed to crush spirits. The food is inadequate, clean water is scarce and expensive, contact with the outside world is restricted, and the heat in the cramped cells is overwhelming.”
According to Licadho, occupancy rates regularly exceed 200%, and some exceed 500%. One former inmate called living in prison “like living in hell.”
That is why we are turning to you for support.
Our partners urgently need help with the burdens associated with these unjust sentences and appalling prison conditions. We are raising funds to help the wrongfully convicted and their families with expenses such as legal aid, prison visits, food for the incarcerated, and other costs.
Thank you for your solidarity and donation. Your support means a great deal to our imprisoned partners and their families.
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Their actions to protect people and nature are creative, inspiring – and always peaceful (© Mother Nature Cambodia)