A protest leader was arrested during a demonstration on Monday morning outside Banteay Meanchey provincial police headquarters in Poipet City because authorities said the group of about 40 people did not have permission to protest.
The demonstrators had gathered outside the headquarters with an effigy—representing a corrupt government official—covered in a sheet splattered with fake blood, their latest in a series of protests against their 2011 eviction as part of Asian Development Bank-funded efforts to rehabilitate Cambodia’s railway network.
Provincial police chief Ath Khem said that the arrested man, Chheng Bunhak, was detained because the group’s repeated protests were bad for public order.
“First, what they have done has affected public order and security, and they have done it more than 10 times already,” said Mr. Khem.
“Secondly, they had no permission at all for what they did. We have legal procedures in place that they must follow in order to protest.”
