"Boeng Tamok Activist Flees to Thailand, Seeking Refugee Status", 21 August 2023

Fearing arrest, well known land rights activist Prak Sophea fled to Thailand … and applied for refugee status …

Sophea, an outspoken resident of the Boeng Tamok lake community set for eviction, already faced three court orders since last year and said she left the country after she heard another complaint would be filed against her.

“I have asked for the United Nations to intervene and help me live here under protection and for them to help our [Boeng Tamok] community,” Sophea said.

She explained that she sent a letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) requesting refugee status.

UNHCR Associate External Relations Officer Morgan Roussel-Hemery declined to comment on Sophea’s case.

“For protection and confidentiality reasons, UNHCR is not in a position to comment on the details or even confirm the existence of individual cases,” Roussel-Hemery said in an emailed response.

Before escaping away from home, Sophea said she was being watched by people wearing civilian clothing and riding back and forth across her house while at the same time she received information that someone close to Prek Pnov district​ authorities planned to file a complaint on her.

… There are 75 houses remaining in Samrong Tbong village, where residents’ lives have been in limbo for the past few years as the Boeng Tamok lake has been granted to well-connected elites. Several dozen families left after accepting compensation by authorities to relocate…