Yorm Bopha

Yorm Bopha (* 1983 in Cambodia ) is a Cambodian land rights activist . Most of all, Bopha is known for her activism against the development of the Boeung Kak area in Phnom Penh . Yorm Bopha was actively involved in protecting the land rights of the residents. In 2012, she ran a campaign for the freedom of thirteen women who were sentenced to prison terms for their role as activists in one of the protests .

Life

Yorm Bopha was born in 1983, lives in Cambodia and speaks the national language Khmer . She has a son named Lous Ly Hour. Yorm Bopha was previously married to activist Lours Sakhon. They parted in a dispute that allegedly escalated into violence.

activism

Since 2007 a company has been filling Lake Boeung Kak with sand. Many residents were driven from their homes.

According to residents and a BBC reporter in 2011, Boeung Kak Lake was once the largest lake in Phnom Penh . Today, according to residents, it is more like a puddle.

Yorm Bopha began to protest against the senator's big company and the spilling of the lake from 2012.

The company has already built 20,000 buildings in the now largely drained lake area. There were no advantages for the now homeless residents. The senator responsible for the construction made the greatest profit from urbanization.

Yorm Bopha defended and supported land rights in Phnom Penh and stood up for the residents of Phnom Penh who had to leave their homes due to the forced evictions.

In 2012, Yorm led a campaign for the freedom of thirteen women who played a major role in the protests against the pumping out of Lake Boeung Kak.

On December 28, Yorm Bopha was charged with willful violence against two men in aggravating circumstances. Allegedly she attacked two taxi drivers. She was arrested without evidence or arrest warrants.

Yorm Bopha was arrested despite the lack of evidence and witnesses. The alleged witnesses later even confirmed that Bopha was innocent, but these statements were ignored by the competent court.

Outside the courtroom, many land rights activists protested in favor of Bopha's release. The police held back the tense crowd with electric batons.

The President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights , Ou Virak , expressed his deep disappointment in the Bophas case. "I think the court only wants to stop the land protests with this case." Amnesty International claims that the government "fabricated" the charges in order to avoid more land protests around Lake Boeung Kak. Amnesty also said the land rights activists were only arrested for defending the rights of their community.

On March 27, 2013, Bopha's request for bail was denied by the Cambodian Supreme Court. In June 2013, her prison term was reduced to two years.

In the meantime, many people protested for Bopha's release.

Arrests

Yorm Bopha was arrested in 2012 for campaigning for the release of 13 detained activists (The Boeung Kak 13) who had been demonstrating peacefully. She was released in 2013 following the Amnesty International letter marathon, but was sentenced to three years in prison again in 2014. She was arrested for allegedly attacking two taxi drivers. Despite a lack of evidence, the complaint was filed because the state wanted to get rid of Yorm Bopha. She lost her trial and was imprisoned for three years. Her then nine-year-old son Lous Ly Hour had to live without his mother during this time. In 2016 she was sentenced again to three years in prison due to the situation that had already been clarified in 2014. In addition, she was supposed to pay the alleged victims 10 million riels (around € 2,200). Her ex-husband, Lous Sakhon, was sentenced to an equally large fine.

She is not currently in jail. The risk that she will be captured again is very high and the Cambodian government can arrest her again at any time.

2014

Recently liberated anti-eviction activist Yorm Bopha was involved in a public argument with her husband. Reporters called to Yorm Bopha's house by an NGO representative claimed that Ms. Bopha's husband tried to kill her. He warned the media because he feared that Ms. Bopha would be the victim of dirty tactics by the local authorities. "Yorm Bopha's husband had her locked in her house and no one in the community who could hear Yorm scream came to her aid. Three government-sponsored news outlets also published reports claiming Ms. Bopha was having an affair with Another resident of Boeng Kak. When reporters arrived at Ms. Bopha's residence after being alerted by Mr. Phearum, Ms. Bopha was treated by a doctor for scratches on her forearms and hands. Representatives from the Housing Rights Task Force allowed the reporters not to interview Ms. Bopha at her apartment. They later contacted that the physical argument with her husband started after she complained about a gambling problem. "He told me he wanted to sell the house and would never live in Boeng Kak again wants, "said Ms. Bopha. Ms. Bopha denied claims in local publications about her alleged affair with ei Another resident of Boeng Kak. “They are not journalists. You have no conscience, ”she said. "They published stories with no idea of ​​the real story." Ms. Bopha claimed that she divorced her husband on November 23, 2013, the day after she was released from prison. However, Mr Sokhorn denied the couple were divorced, despite admitting he stayed with a nephew for at least a month, saying he would like Ms. Bopha to pull out of her activism. “For three years she has been screaming in the town hall and getting nothing. It's enough, ”he said. Ms. Bopha also said she would not file a complaint with the police about the physical altercation. Bopha's son has lived with his father since the divorce.

Ms. Bopha later married former CNRP MP Real Camerin in December 2014. However, the relationship ended because of her activism.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cambodia: Ongoing judicial harassment against Ms. Yorm Bopha and Ms. Tim Sakmony. Retrieved January 30, 2019 . 
2. ↑ WebCite query result. Accessed January 30, 2019 . 
3. ^ Civil Society Calls for Immediate Release of Boeung Kak Lake Activists. Accessed January 31, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Cambodia: Detention of Labor Activists Unjustified. Accessed January 31, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Malaysia: Ongoing judicial harassment against Ms. Lena Hendry. Accessed January 31, 2019 . 
6. ^ ^{A b} Housing Activists Sentenced to Three Years Each in Prison. Accessed January 31, 2019 . 
7. ↑ CSOs condemn decision to find Boeng Kak land activist Yorm Bopha guilty following retrial. Accessed January 31, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Donna M. Airoldi: Activist Yorm Bopha again found guilty. In: phnompenhpost.com. June 29, 2016, accessed February 4, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Yorm Bopha released on bail. Accessed January 30, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Welcoming Yorm Bopha in the rain. Retrieved January 30, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Sek Odom: Husband Locks Anti-Eviction Activist Yorm Bopha in House. January 15, 2014, accessed January 30, 2019 (American English). 
12. ^ Activist swaps protests for rural life. In: Khmer Times. December 14, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2019 (American English).