"Nine Boeng Tamok Residents Placed Under Court Supervision, Face Additional Charges", 1 March 2023

Nine Boeng Tamok lake residents face charges of “intentional acts of violence and obstruction of public officials” and were placed under court supervision following a … warrant issued by the Phnom Penh Municipal court.

The residents received the warrant in the morning and were ordered to appear in court by the afternoon. They did not attend because their lawyer from human rights NGO Licadho was unavailable, they said…

For years, the outspoken residents of Samraong Tboung village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh have protested the filling-in of Boeng Tamok, one of the capital’s last remaining natural lakes. They are also on the verge of being evicted from their homes and losing their livelihoods fishing and harvesting vegetation from the lake as a series of land giveaways to well-connected elites and developers transform the landscape.

Prak Sophea, a prominent activist and resident of Samraong Tboung village along the lake, denied the allegations. She said the charges likely arose after an altercation between authorities and residents …

Sophea and at least 10 villagers have already been ordered to appear in court a combined three times ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court previously issued a court summons … for seven representatives of Samraong Tboung village, including Sophea. The Prek Pnov district head of security claimed the residents had committed obstruction of public officials, incitement and public disorder…

According to urban poor NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), at least 2,244.45 hectares of the lake’s 3,239.69 hectares have been filled in with sand, …