Joint Letter to the Government of Cambodia
On 23 March Civil Rights Defenders, together with several other civil society groups, sent a joint letter to the Royal Government of Cambodia and called for immediate investigation into the disappearance of 16-year old Khem Sophath. He disappeared after a violent crackdown by Cambodian security forces against striking garment workers 3 January 2014 in Phnom Penh.
“We, the undersigned civil society groups, express our deep concern over the disappearance of Khem Sophath, a 16-year-old boy missing since the violent crackdown by Cambodian security forces against striking garment workers on 3 January 2014 near the Canadia Industrial area on Veng Sreng road, Phnom Penh,” the letter read. “We call on the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to take all appropriate measures to immediately, thoroughly and impartially investigate Khem Sophath’s disappearance and inform his family of his fate or whereabouts.”
The crackdown, which started on 2 January 2014, resulted in at least four people killed, dozens injured and 23 workers and human rights defenders arrested. Khem Sophath was last seen on the morning of 3 January 2014 lying on the ground on Veng Sreng road with blood pouring from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his chest. More than two months later, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Read the letter in full: Public Letter Urging an Immediate Investigation into the Disappearance of Khem Sophath.
