"Two jailed activists reportedly beaten in prison, official denies charge", 18 December 2020

Two jailed Khmer Thavrak activists were allegedly beaten in Prey Sar’s Correctional Center 2 …, according to a relative of one of the activists, an accusation denied by the Prisons Department.

Eng Vanndy, 21, who is the sister of Khmer Thavrak activist Eng Malai, said her sister and another jailed activist, Chhoeun Daravy, were beaten by prisoners for going on a hunger strike earlier this month. She visited her sister in prison on Wednesday and said Malai was physically injured and pale.

“My sister told me that she and Chhoeun Daravy were beaten by several prisoners …, after [they] went on a hunger strike … to request prison officials to respect the human rights of political prisoners, who were being unjustly detained,” said Vanndy.

The sister has asked Malai’s lawyer to request NGOs to investigate the alleged beatings, adding that it was unusual for other prisoners to beat political detainees.

The Interior Ministry’s Department of Prisons denied the allegations and instead said that Malai was misbehaving and other prisoners were only trying to get her into the cell…

“I deny that anyone beat her; she was the first to cause trouble,” Savna said…

… Eng Malai and four other activists had their applications rejected by the Appeal Court ... The four others include Khmer Thavrak activists Koeut Saray and Tha Lavy, and Khmer Student Intelligent League Association members Mean Prummony and Moung Sopheak…

Plang Samnang, a spokesperson for the Appeal Court, said it had decided to uphold the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s legal reasoning and decision to deny the five activists bail…