Dozens of ethnic minority villagers protested in front of Ratanakkiri provincial prison on Friday morning demanding the release of two men arrested Thursday afternoon over a land dispute in O’Chum district, police and rights workers said.
Chan Pheu, 39, and Khao Ry, 26, were arrested following questioning at the provincial court, where they were charged with infringing upon the legal property of others.
After several hours outside the prison, the villagers returned to their homes in Ekeapheap commune, promising to hold a bigger protest if the men are not released on bail, rights workers said.
Pen Bonnar, Adhoc provincial coordinator, said the men have been arrested to frighten villagers.
They and a wealthy businessman both claim the land in question as their own, he added.
“This is a new kind of intimidation to frighten villagers protesting in land disputes,” he said.
An Samnang, an investigating judge at the court, declined comment.
Ny Chandy, a lawyer with the NGO Legal Aid of Cambodia representing the two men, said the detentions were a serious violation of legal procedure. He said the men were escorted from the courtroom straight to the prison without a detention warrant being stamped or signed by the prosecutor.
“The detention is wrong according to the law,” Ny Chandy said. “My clients have done nothing wrong.”
He added that a provincial prison guard refused to put the two men in a cell on procedural grounds, and the men were taken to police headquarters instead.
They were delivered to the prison on Friday morning.
Prison Director Ngin Nel said he was uncomfortable with the proceedings. “At this time we cannot detain anyone as the judge wants,” he said.
Hor Ang, first deputy provincial police chief, said he not received any reports of the protest or arrests.
The men are the first of eight villagers to be invited to the court for questioning about the case.
