ONE YEAR WRONGFULLY BEHIND BARS
“Silencing brave youth won’t stop the truth. The world is watching. We will not stop until they are free.” — Sun Ratha, Mother Nature Cambodia activist
On 2 July 2024, five environmental defenders from 2023 Right Livelihood Laureate Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC) were sentenced to prison for exposing ecological destruction and speaking out against corruption.
Now, one year on, Right Livelihood and Laureates of the Award—including Oleksandra Matviichuk, Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Anwar Fazal and SAPPROS—are calling for their immediate release and an end to the criminalisation of peaceful environmental activism.
The five activists—Ly Chandaravuth (25), Phuon Keoraksmey (24), Long Kunthea (27), Thun Ratha (33) and Yim Leanghy (35)—were convicted of “plotting” and “insulting the King.” These charges have been widely condemned by UN experts and human rights organisations as politically motivated. The activists were denied a fair trial and sent to separate remote prisons across the country. All five remain behind bars.
In April 2025, Cambodia’s Supreme Court denied bail to the five activists, upholding their continued detention.
Mother Nature Cambodia is the country’s preeminent youth-led environmental movement. Despite facing escalating repression, it has successfully stopped destructive megaprojects, protected Indigenous communities and helped end a corrupt and ecologically devastating sand export trade.
Since 2015, Cambodian authorities have jailed at least 13 Mother Nature activists and arrested dozens more. Others, including co-founder Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, have been deported or forced into exile.
“Their fight is our fight. Their voices are not forgotten,” said Right Livelihood Executive Director Ole von Uexkull.
