Mother Nature activist Long Kunthea, who was imprisoned yesterday for her environmental activism.
Credit: Facebook/Mother Nature
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A Cambodian court has imprisoned three environmental activists belonging to the advocacy group Mother Nature, after finding them guilty of “incitement” for organizing a one-woman protest against the filling of lakes in the country’s capital Phnom Penh.
On Wednesday, a judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced activists Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey to 18 months in prison for “incitement to commit a felony or disturb social order” and fined them 4 million riel (about $1,000) each. A third activist, Thun Ratha, 29, was sentenced to 20 months on the same charge, and he was also fined 4 million riel.
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13 April 2021, 16:13 UTC
By any metric, Cambodiaâs Prey Lang forest is vitally important. A biodiversity hotspot, it spans approximately 500,000 hectares of diverse types of forest teeming with animals, insects and birds, including endangered species, and provides resin tapping and other sources of livelihood for many of the Indigenous Kuy People living within or adjacent to the sanctuary.
As the largest lowland rainforest in mainland Southeast Asia, Prey Lang also plays a key role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and is a crucial source of water for Cambodia. The government designated much of the forest as a protected Wildlife Sanctuary in 2016.
Amnesty International warns of serious threats to Cambodia s protected forest jornaleconomico.sapo.pt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jornaleconomico.sapo.pt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.