US expresses concern for detained Cambodian rights workers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, file photo, Ny Vanda, center, and Yi Soksan, rear center, staff members of Cambodia Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) arrive at Supreme Court, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The United States has joined the European Union and U.N. human rights agencies in expressing concern over the extended pre-trial detention of five Cambodian human rights held for more than a year. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File) (The Associated Press)
The United States has joined the European Union and U.N. human rights agencies in expressing concern over the extended pre-trial detention of five Cambodian human rights held for more than a year.
The five current or former staff members of the group ADHOC are held for allegedly bribing a woman to change testimony that was damaging to then-deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was accused of acting illegally in connection with an alleged extra-marital affair. The related cases are generally seen as moves by Prime Minister Hun Sen's government to weaken its political opponents.
A statement released Friday by the U.S. State Department noted the delay in holding a trial and how it stressed the detainees' families. It urged Cambodia to adhere to its obligations under international human rights statutes.