Cambodia deports outspoken Spanish activist who led campaign against controversial mega-dam
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen talks with top leaders of his party before an event by the ruling Cambodian People's Party marking the 36th anniversary of the 1979 downfall of the Khmer Rouge regime at their party headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (The Associated Press)
Police in Cambodia say that an outspoken Spanish environmental activist was deported after the expiration of his visa.
The Monday deportation of Alex Gonzalez-Davidson came after the anti-dam campaigner had refused an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen to leave the country.
Gonzalez-Davidson was a co-founder of a non-governmental group called Mother Nature, which opposes the construction of a controversial hydropower dam in southwestern Cambodia's Koh Kong province.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Monday Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered him to leave the country, following the Friday expiration of his visa.
The Spaniard had vowed to remain in Cambodia and was arrested Monday, then deported on an evening flight, said Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Khieu Sopheak.