On August 16, Cambodian authorities “forcibly disappeared” Vannith Hay, the brother of Vanna Hay, an activist leading the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Movement in Japan. Former Prime Minister and current Senate President Hun Sen had threatened Vanna a week before his brother went missing. In May, Sun Chanthy, the head of the opposition National Power Party, was arrested after returning from Japan, where he gave a speech urging the Cambodian government to allow opposition parties to operate freely.
In July, a Cambodian court found Teav Vannol, leader of the opposition Candlelight Party, guilty of defamation and fined him $1.5 million for criticizing Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in a media interview in Tokyo. Speaking a few weeks later, Hun Manet directed his anger at the Japanese government: “Does Japan support the use of its territory as a base for leading protests and overthrowing [the government]?”
