Kingdom of Cambodia: Law and order without the law

Index Number: ASA 23/001/2000
Date Published: 1 March 2000
Categories: Asia And The Pacific, Cambodia

On 3 December 1999, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen issued an order to rearrest "all suspect armed robbers, kidnappers and drug-trafficking criminals" in a crackdown against corruption in the judicial system which had allegedly lead to their original release. Amnesty International believes that this measure contravenes both domestic and international law. This document looks at the background to the existing weak judicial system and the events which lead up to the rearrests directive. It also reports on the prison conditions that those rearrested face and the subsequent developments in the courts.