Eng Malai
Cases- Case status
- Unknown
- Location of case in SG report
- 2021-011-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2021
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 12.565679
Longitude: 104.990963
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Cambodia
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
- Dates of prior UN action
- 11 September 2020
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Female
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
leaving the OHCHR Office in Phnom Penh on 7 September 2020
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
Visiting the OHCHR Office in Phnom Penh on 7 September 2020
- Engagement with UN body
- OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
- Dates of engagement
- 7 September 2020
- Type of attempted engagement
- Participation in meeting on UN premises
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 7 Sept 2020
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Phnom Penh
- Reprisal information
On 11 September 2020, the Spokesperson of the High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concern about the arrest of human rights defenders, including Ms. Eng Malai, who was arrested and detained after leaving the OHCHR Office in Phnom Penh on 7 September 2020 by plain-clothes officials (see also KHM 8/20208). She had reported the imminent threat of her arrest and detention, and was seeking support for her protection from OHCHR. As of May 2021, Ms. Malai is one of five detained Khmer Thavrak members placed in pre-trial detention for incitement charges under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. The Spokesperson noted that the “situation marks a deepening of the Government’s intolerance to dissent and repression...mainly directed at human rights organizations, environmentalists and human rights defenders.”
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Further case development
As of May 2021, Ms. Malai is one of five detained Khmer Thavrak members placed in pre-trial detention for incitement charges under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. The Spokesperson noted that the “situation marks a deepening of the Government’s intolerance to dissent and repression...mainly directed at human rights organizations, environmentalists and human rights defenders.”
- Government response dates
- 18 August 2021
- Government response content
On 18 August 2021, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report, noting that the arrest and detention of Ms. Eng Malai and a group of purported activists, who had assembled to file the petition to OHCHR in Cambodia, are in full adherence to the existing applicable procedures and rules with the aim of maintaining and guaranteeing social security and public order.
- Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
- No
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0