Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the imprisonment of prominent Cambodian human rights activist and lawyer Theary Seng. On 14 June 2022, she was sentenced to 6 years in prison on the charges of treason.

As a child, she moved to the United States after her parents were murdered in the Khmer Rouge genocide. She graduated Georgetown University and later obtained a law degree from the University of Michigan.

In 2004, she moved back from the United States to Cambodia to fight for democracy, freedom, and human rights. Since the crackdown of violence in 2017, Theary refused to flee, instead staying in the country to continue her fight.

Her imprisonment only shows that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s authoritarian rule is threatened by any political dissent. By not allowing any freedom of expression, Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to raise fear in the people of Cambodia that speaking up against injustice will cost one’s freedom. 

Liberal International’s Human Rights Committee continues to support Theary Seng and other Cambodians in these uncertain times and strongly condemns the imprisonment of Theary Seng and Cambodian activists opposing the draconian rule of Hun Sen. Freedom of expression is a human right, and the victims of Hun Sen’s regime should have justice.

Theary Seng was awarded the Hans van Baalen Medal of Liberalism in 2023. The Medal is awarded to a person that has worked hard to advance liberal values on a local, national and international level. 

Furthermore, she was a strong candidate for the Liberal International Prize for Freedom 2023. 

At the 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council this month in Geneva, Liberal International will deliver an oral statement on oppression in Cambodia and the unjust imprisonment of Theary Seng. 

Image courtesy of Theary Seng’s website.