A Cambodian official on Wednesday defended an anti-drug campaign that has been decried as rife with abuses, saying human rights “need to be put aside” to fight drugs that destroy families and fuel violent crime.
The comments came in response to rights group Amnesty International, which said in a report that the campaign that has seen 55,000 people arrested had led to torture and caused dangerous prison overcrowding while fuelling corruption.
Amnesty cited interviews with dozens of people who described arbitrary arrests by police and torture in prison and drug treatment centres.
